Next Chance to Move On
by Thanaturge
Summary: Igor sees that something is still bothering Aigis after the events of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and decides to give her a chance to save the one that she cares for the most. He sends her back in time to the beginning of Minato's journey with a few changes. The most important one? Aigis is now human. Can she stop Ikutsuki?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Prologue: Next Chance to Move On<em>

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><p>"So... everything is all over," Mitsuru Kirijo said, sighing in relief as she sat down in the base that the Shadow Operatives owned. Every Shadow Operative was sitting down in the room, talking about what they were doing before all this happened, and how they've been. Well, everyone except for one of them.<p>

"...Man... I know how much this day matters to her and all, but would it kill her to come and join us? This is supposed to be a celebration!" Junpei asked, smiling widely. Yukari elbowed him in the side, giving him a harsh look.

"It's just what you said, Junpei. This day means a lot to her, and that's why she's not with us right now. Did you forget how she was after he..." Akihiko trailed off, still not wanting to get on the still touchy topic of a certain member of the team that they had lost.

"I don't get it. What're you all talking about?" Labrys asked.

"...It's nothing," Mitsuru said, feeling a pain in her heart that she thought had gone away starting to rise up one more time.

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><p>Normally, no one dared to go to the graveyard at night. However, one woman walked into it. She had something that she had to do.<p>

"I'm sorry that I had to miss the party Mitsuru-san," The woman said, finding the grave that she wanted to see. As usual, she placed a bundle of flowers before it, and stared at it, not saying anything. It was always like this. She would come here to pay Minato a visit, and then she would choke on the words that she was about to say. The only person who was able to do this to her, was the boy that she was visiting right now.

"...Minato-san..." Aigis began, her blue eyes darting around nervously. "How are you doing? I hope that Nyx isn't giving you any trouble! Then again... it's you, and you can handle things without any trouble whatsoever. I did something amazing too, today. Well, I didn't help much. I'm not much of a help anymore. It was all through the help of two people that I met recently. One was Yu Narukami. He's got the same powers as you. And there's another... and she's my sister. I still haven't gotten over that fact yet, it seems... but they were the ones who did it all. At least, that's what I was told. I was supporting them, though, so I wasn't slacking off! There was a boy that we stopped... he said that he was Ikutsuki's son. But in reality, he was just an experiment that Ikutsuki worked on. I felt so bad for him hearing him talk... partly because I somewhat know his pain, and another... because he reminds me of you so much more than Yu-san does. His name is Sho Minazuki. I doubt that you met him. But... I just wish you could! I wish you were here!"

Aigis fell to her knees. She couldn't find the power in herself to stand anymore. She grabbed onto the gravestone, and let out a pained wail. She wanted him back. She needed him back.

"Don't worry about me..." Aigis said, calming down. "I always do this, remember? I can't help it... If there was a way to bring you back... you don't know how much I would take it. Everyone misses you, Minato-san. I miss you especially. Well... that's really all that I came to say to you. I'll just... stay here with you once again." She rested her back against Minato's tombstone, and closed her eyes. It was customary for her. She would always go to sleep here instead of at the base, where she really should go. But she didn't feel like sleeping on the way back. So that's why every time she came here she'd sleep with him, because it actually made her believe that she was sleeping with him, even though this is as close as touching Minato as she'll ever get.

She laughed to herself. At herself. She thought that she would be over this by now. She thought that she would just forget about Minato's death. It's been three years. Why shouldn't she? In response to that, she would always tell the voice inside her mind that Minato was special to her, and that she loved him. She'd do anything for that boy. She compared herself to Minazuki, the personality that Sho's Plume of Dusk conjured up. She would be Minato's Minazuki. Forever.

Finally going to sleep for real this time, Aigis smiled, happy that she spent today with Minato.

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><p>When Aigis awoke, she wasn't in the graveyard that she fell asleep in, and she wasn't wearing the coat that she always wore to conceal her robotic parts. She looked down to find herself quite unclothed. She took a look around herself and found multiple doors, each lined up carefully, and of different shapes and sizes. In front of her was a table with a blue tablecloth on top of it. In front of that table was what looked like a sofa. The entire room around her was some shade of the color blue.<p>

She knew where she was instantly, however. This was no foreign place to her. This was the Velvet Room. Somewhere that she found herself able to enter ever since she inherited Minato's powers. She thought back to the first time that she entered this room. Elizabeth, the woman who was always with the long-nosed man in front of her, Igor, took an immediate liking to her. She didn't know why herself. Maybe it had something to do with Minato.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted, gesturing around him. He always greeted everyone like that, no matter how much they've payed a visit to him and this room.

"Igor-san, why am I here?" Aigis asked the man.

"I was just getting to that, you see. You are here for a very special purpose. I have witnessed your growth and I must say that I am truly impressed. You've progressed much faster than anyone who has ever stepped foot in this room. At this point, I could say that you are just as powerful as our previous guest in this room," Igor said.

"Are you referring to Yu-san?" Aigis asked.

"No, I'm referring to the boy that you yearn to see once more," Igor said. "You've inherited his powers, and are using them quite well."

"Thank you, Igor-san," Aigis smiled. She felt a lot better knowing that his powers weren't wasted on her. She was still getting used to the Wild Card thing, even though it's been three years since she got it.

"Now... the thing that I have called you in here relates directly to that boy. As I have said before, you yearn to see him deep inside of your heart, and thoughts of him plague your mind every day. You wish desperately to at least see him once more before he's gone again. I know of a way to do just that," Igor said.

"R-Really!?" Aigis beamed, almost jumping out of the chair that she was sitting in in excitement.

"Yes, really. I can give you a new start. A chance to change his tragic fate," Igor said. "I will create a world that is based out of your own desires using your own power, and... the rest is up to you. Now shut your eyes, and when you open them, the duty that you have committed yourself to starts."

Aigis shut her eyes. She would give anything to see Minato Arisato one more time. Just one small glimpse was enough for her. She'd make sure that she would be with him forever.

"Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. You who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be... You will be given one year. Go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide," Igor said.

Aigis felt herself leaving the Velvet Room.

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><p>Aigis opened her eyes and found herself standing on a train platform. Where was she? Looking around her, she noticed that in actuality, this place was very familiar to her. The movie theater being near her being one of the deciding factors. This was Iwatodai station. If she was right, then, that meant...<p>

The train stopped, and the door opened to reveal a young looking boy with blue hair. Aigis felt a very odd sensation, something that she hadn't felt ever before as she watched the boy step off the train and look up into the sky, seemingly not noticing her.

Aigis couldn't believe her own eyes. What Igor did worked. Minato Arisato was standing right before her, and Aigis could swear that all of this was real. She wanted to just reach out and hold him in her arms, never letting go, but she knew that it would be very weird to have that as a greeting to someone who was basically a stranger to him now, as much as it pained her to think about that.

"Nice night tonight, isn't it?" Minato asked, breaking her out of her trance.

"Yeah," was all that Aigis could reply. She didn't know what to say to the boy now that she finally got to see him again.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing out so late? You going somewhere too? I'm heading to a dorm," he said.

"Funny... I'm heading there too," Aigis responded. But was she really? Something inside of her was telling her to go to the dorm, but another part of her wanted to go straight to Ikutsuki or someone who could get rid of him. He was the cause of all of her problems, and she would definitely stop him.

"Then let's go together," Minato suggested, actually taking his headphones off. Aigis nodded, and walked along with him to the dorm. As they were walking, an all too familiar sensation hit both her and Minato. Aigis, of course, knew what this was. The Dark Hour. She found it ironic that she just got out of a situation that involved something that looked like the Dark Hour, and felt like it too, and here it was again. "In the flesh", as they say. Or at least she thought so. She still wasn't good with those.

"What the hell's going on here? Everything looks like some sort of massacre happened," Minato pointed out, looking at the coffins that littered the streets. Those coffins were actually people who didn't have the potential to summon a Persona.

"I don't know either... but it's creepy. We should hurry to the dorm," Aigis said.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Minato. Minato Arisato. What's your name?" he asked, stopping before the both of them picked up the pace.

"I'm Aigis. I don't have a last name, sorry," Aigis responded. If she did have one, what would it be? That was something that she always wondered to herself. What if she was a human instead of a robot? She would love every second of it, not that it was bad to be what she is anyway.

"No last name, huh? I guess that means that you don't have anyone for you, just like me," he patted her shoulder, making her turn to him. "Don't worry. It'll be okay. You just have to be strong. But then again, you've been strong your whole life haven't you?"

Aigis smiled at the blue haired boy and the two of them proceeded to hurry to the dorm.

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><p>After they opened the door to the dorm, they found themselves in an oddly dark room. Maybe it was this way because of what was happening to the world right now. Aigis looked around, taking in everything around her. It was the same old dorm that she spent her time in during that fateful year.<p>

Aigis looked back at Minato, who was signing his name in a sign in sheet. After he signed, the book was pulled away and disappeared into the darkness. Was someone behind the counter? Before Aigis could go and check it out, Minato turned around to her.

"Who was that boy...?" Minato asked himself, turning to Aigis. "Did you see him?"

"No, I don't know what you're talking about," Aigis shook her head.

"Who's there!?" a voice yelled, interrupting their conversation. Minato turned to where he thought was the staircase and saw a girl standing there with what looked like a gun in her hand. Minato and Aigis both looked at it like a deer in headlights. Was this what happened to him when he first came here? The girl shakily handled the gun, pointing it at the two.

"Takeba, wait!" another voice yelled, making the holder of the gun stop and put said gun away.

'Yukari-san held Minato-san at gunpoint? Or was that not really a gun, but her evoker? I do remember that she had one that was strapped to her thigh...' Aigis thought, looking around to see where the other voice came from. A red haired woman walked out from the shadows, revealing herself to Minato and Aigis. This person was Mitsuru Kirijo, someone that Aigis knew very well.

"I didn't think that you two would arrive so late," Mitsuru sighed. "However, you know how it is out there. Please forgive Takeba for that."

"No, it's fine. I know how things are this day and age. It'd only be natural to do something like that if two people walked into your home this late at night. The train had a delay, so that's why I arrived late," Minato explained.

"I see. I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, and this is Yukari Takbea," Mitsuru introduced herself and Yukari. Aigis looked at the two of them. They were wearing the same old clothes that they wore when they were still part of SEES. This whole things was quite nostalgic for her, and part of her was glad that she's able to relive this year. It was one of her favorites. Aigis found it weird that no one was saying anything about her appearance, seeing as how off-putting it is to other people who didn't already know that she was an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

She found herself in her school uniform already, which was completely odd to her. She didn't want to go and check out what was up right now, because it would look very weird of she started to poke herself in the middle of a conversation. She did notice that something didn't feel right while she was walking with Minato to the dorm. For one, her legs were kind of sore from all of the walking. She thought that it was just her body simulating human feelings, but now it just felt too real to be a simulation.

"Is it really okay for him to be here?" Yukari asked, turning to the red haired beauty with an unsure look on her face.

"We'll see soon enough," Mitsuru responded.

"What are you guys talking about, if you don't mind me asking?" Minato asked, raising a brow.

"Oh, so far only girls are in this dorm," Yukari said. Aigis knew that it had to be a lie. What about Akihiko? Or maybe they were just making up some kind of excuse.

"Takeba, if you would show them to their rooms..." Mitsuru gestured up the stairs, and sat down on the couch in the lounge. She started to stare at the door, crossing her arms and her legs, like she was waiting for someone.

Yukari brought Minato and Aigis both into their rooms, answering any questions that they had about going to school and their life in the dorm. It was all of the basic stuff. Nothing unusual.

Now that Aigis was in her room, which was at exactly the same location that it had been while she was at the dorm in the past, or in her eyes now, the future, she took a good look around for a mirror. She was never in an actual girl's room before. This was something else that was setting off warning signs for her. It was a normal room for a human, but not for a robot like her.

She poked her arm with her finger, and didn't feel any hard metal. Aigis looked at her hand and noticed that it wasn't metal as well, and that it was actually gloved. Her other hand was the same way. Making sure the door was locked, Aigis took the shirt that she had on and took it off. She was surprised to see pale skin instead of the metal plating that made up her torso. Did something happen to her? Igor did say that he would 'create a world that was based off of her own desires', but she didn't think he'd go this far!

"I'm... a human..." Aigis muttered to herself, falling to her knees and hugging herself. It would be a lie to say that she didn't want to be a human, and seeing a human-like form in front of her now made one of her dreams come true.

"I have to stop Ikutsuki." Aigis said, regaining her composure and standing up, putting her shirt back on. "As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to make sure that Ikutsuki stops his madness. I'll tell them as soon as possible. Like that expression Junpei-san says... It's so crazy that it makes sense!"

Aigis jumped onto the bed that was provided for her, and poked herself again. She liked the feeling. She'd have time to play around with her new humanity later. Right now, she was feeling a little tired. She had to prepare herself for tomorrow.

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><p><strong>Well, there's the prologue chapter. I hope you enjoyed.<br>**


	2. Chapter 2

**Man, I really was not expecting my inbox to explode the way it did! I'm glad that you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 1: The Year Begins<em>

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><p>"Aigis, can you even hear me in there?" an irritated voice snapped Aigis awake. She got up out of bed and walked to the door.<p>

"What's going on?" Aigis asked.

"You're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry up and get changed now!" Yukari returned. "Hurry up, alright?"

"Sure thing," Aigis said, running over to the closet in her room and taking out a fresh new uniform. She slept in the one she was wearing right now, and no doubt it smelled.

Aigis froze as she held the uniform in her hands. She had only gotten dressed a couple of times. But most of the time it was someone else dressing her because she wasn't able to get the clothes through all of her robot parts.

'I have to wing it, as they say,' Aigis thought to herself, taking her old clothes off and slowly putting the new ones on. She wasn't sure on how to dress herself properly yet, but she at least knew that it was simple. She just hoped that she got it right.

She threw that thought into the back of her mind and followed Yukari out the door along with Minato. The trio began to head for Gekkoukan High, the school that they were going to attend for the rest of the year.

Outside was the perfect cliche for a beautiful day. There wasn't a cloud in the clear blue sky, and the sun was shining down brilliantly on all three of them. Aigis couldn't be any happier. She was walking right next to Minato, and he was actually smiling.

It had broken her heart when she saw Minato with that gloomy face after the defeat of Nyx. She knew that something was wrong with him, and she had urged him to go to a hospital to get himself checked, but Minato just smiled weakly at her and said that everything was alright, and that he'd live. Aigis found that statement sickeningly funny to her. "I'll live" he said. Obviously, he didn't.

But she had to stop thinking about that. What was important was who was right in front of her right now. Minato himself. And he was fine. And she would make sure that nothing was ever going to happen to him again. She would make sure that anyone who even laid a finger on Minato payed.

"So, are you two excited to start school?" Yukari asked, turning her head to look behind her.

"Oh, I'm thrilled," Minato deadpanned. "I never liked school much. Everyone feels sorry for me, but I don't want them to. I just want to be looked at like a normal boy, not the guy whose parents were killed."

Yukari fell silent. She didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't every day someone brought up their dead parents.

"Sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. Just needed to get something off of my chest," Minato added.

"No, it's fine," Yukari said. "Everyone needs to let something out every now and then, right?"

"I, for one, am very excited!" Aigis spoke up with a smile. "I cannot wait to learn new things!"

"Glad you're excited..." the blue haired boy shrugged.

"Well, we should hurry up," Yukari said, starting to walk a little bit faster. Aigis and Minato followed suit, not wanting to be late on the first day either.

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><p>The three students walked into the gates of the school with mixed reactions. Aigis was instantly captivated by how beautiful the school looked at this time of year, with all sorts of flowers and trees growing around. Yukari looked like she wasn't interested in it at all, and Minato looked the same.<p>

"Well, welcome to our school! I hope you enjoy your year here. I'm gonna go talk to a few of my friends. Just go in and look at the bulletin board in the main hall to see what classroom you're in. And if you have any further questions, go to your homeroom teacher," Yukari instructed, leaving the two.

"So, are you excited for this year?" Minato asked Aigis, trying to start up a conversation with the blonde.

"I'm very," Aigis nodded, walking into the building along with the blue haired boy. Multiple students were crowding around the bulletin board that was posted on the wall near the stairs, so it was hard to get through. Aigis eventually got through with Minato and they looked at which room they were going to be in for the rest of the school year.

"Would you look at that, we're both in the same classroom!" Minato tapped Aigis's shoulder.

"Great!" Aigis beamed. Just as she wanted.

"Hey, did you hear about the assembly that we're going to have soon? We should hurry over to the assembly room..." one of the girls that stood in the back of the crowd said to one of her friends.

"Oh, yeah! We, like, totally should go," the other girl responded, running off with her friend.

"I guess that means that we should hurry too," Minato said, following the girls with his headphones on. Aigis followed closely behind Minato, not wanting to lose sight of him.

The auditorium was filled to the brim, but Aigis and Minato eventually found their seats at the section that said "2-F". Their teacher, Isako Toriumi, sat down at the end of the row, looking at the other teachers and smirking at them as if to say that her homeroom was the best.

The president walked up onto the stage and "ahem"ed, catching the audiences attention. Well, all of them except for Aigis and Minato. Minato was listening to his music, while Aigis was thinking about some things.

'You know, I really never got the time to think about whether this was a different world or not... but from what's going on, I can safely say that this is the past, and that the powers of my Wild Card that Igor took away from me to do this influenced it to change it around a bit. I just wonder what happened, because I don't recall ever thinking about how I want to be a human since... well, three years ago. Which would be today. So that means that all of what's going on now is thanks to my subconscious, and if I wasn't thinking about anything I'd be that very same emotionless robot that I hated...' Aigis thought. 'So, I should keep a diary to keep track of what I'm doing. It'll obviously help me with remembering things, because I can't just put them into my database anymore, simply because it no longer exists. I think I could make a quick stop after school today and get myself one.'

Aigis snapped out of her thoughts when Minato elbowed her arm, catching her attention immediately.

"Hey, you hearin' what those other kids are saying?" he asked her.

"What do you mean, Minato-san?" Aigis asked, not knowing what he was talking about. There were kids talking already? She must have been so engrossed with herself that she didn't even hear them. So how did Minato hear them when he was clearly blasting his music into his ears? Did he have some godlike hearing capabilities that she didn't know of?

'Then again... he's pretty godlike himself,' Aigis thought.

"They're already saying stuff about how me and you are going out and stuff. Never fails, you know. Walk together with someone and people already start to make rumors. That's the way the world works," Minato said.

"...Do you want to go out?" Aigis asked. She remembered that very short time that she and Minato were going out. It would have lasted, but Minato had died, effectively cutting their relationship short. She would give anything to start dating her love one more time.

"Did you really just ask that question? You know... I've only known you for about a day. Maybe some time when we get to know each other more," Minato said. "No offense, though. Just looking at it logically."

'It still hurts!' Aigis returned in her mind, feeling a bit heartbroken. But she understood where he was coming from. She couldn't just immediately start making moves on him just yet. Maybe she should wait a few months. Or maybe have a very convenient situation happen.

A few more minutes passed, and the assembly ended. Everyone filed out of the room to go to their homerooms to start the day off. Aigis couldn't wait to start learning about things with Minato again. She hoped that she had the same seat that she did in the past.

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><p>Class was quite boring for the first day, with the students only learning the classroom rules and getting introduced to their teachers and such. Aigis was thankful that her seat was with Minato once more, and that she was right next to the boy too. She was about to pack up when a familiar, lanky figure walked up to her. She looked up from her bag and saw the one and only Junpei Iori standing in front of her with a smile.<p>

"Hey new kids!" he gave a quick wave. "How ya doin'?"

"Hi. What's your name?" Minato asked. Aigis nodded, as Minato already asked her question.

"I'm Junpei Iori! I know how tough it is being the new kid, so I decided to come over and say hey! See, ain't I such a nice guy?" Junpei smirked at the boy. The door behind the three opened, and a girl wearing a pink uniform and a short skirt walked in. This was, of course, Yukari. She was also in the same class, it seemed. Which only confirmed what Aigis was thinking. This was definitely the past, although influenced by herself subconsciously. A feeling of excitement welled up inside of her. Even though this was the same year that it had always been, there were new surprises that were going to show up. Maybe, if everything went well, it would be completely different.

"Wow, not even the first day and you're running your mouth already!" Yukari smiled as she walked up to Junpei. He rubbed the back of his neck and returned the smile.

"Gimme a break, Yuka-tan. I was just tryin' to be nice," Junpei defended.

"Well if that's the case, then you should keep on being nice," Yukari advised. "They're living in the same dorm as me."

"Really!?" Junpei's eyes bugged out, looking to Aigis and then to Yukari. Afterwards, he looked at Minato with a look of pure jealousy in his eyes.

"What's with that look?" Yukari asked. "Wait a second, I know that one! You're thinking of something perverted again, aren't you?"

"No!" Junpei rose his hands to defend himself from Yukari, who was going in to slap him across the face. Aigis recognized the banter between the two. Nothing had changed from back then, had it? They were still fighting with each other like that every day. It was quite amusing to watch for her, and she knew that Labrys enjoyed it too, always stifling a giggle whenever they would get into one of their arguments.

Yukari looked at Aigis, who was laughing herself. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing Yukari-san," Aigis stopped immediately, knowing that... according to Sho Minazuki, her rage makes little kids cry.

"We should be returning to the dorm now," Yukari said. The two nodded and followed her out of school and back to the dorm.

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><p>Back in her room, Aigis jumped onto the bed and found herself a notebook and a pen to write with. Before opening it, she wrote down on the front of the book "Aigis's Diary! No reading, except for Minato-chan because he's special!" and then opened it. It felt weird to even think about talking like that to her, but it was something that she had to get adjusted to.<p>

With thoughts already racing through her mind, she began writing down some things that she was thinking of.

"Dear diary... today I had my first day at school with Minato and Yukari. They were really nice to me, and I met Junpei too! Everything looks like it's going to be okay. The only thing that I have to worry about is Ikutsuki, who I plan to take care of when everyone at the dorm is in the same room. Other than that, I have to get used to my new human body. There's some things that I have to learn to do now that I never had to before. For one, I must learn how to use the restroom, and unfortunately I have to do that on my own, because it would look weird if a 16 year old girl, which is what I'm guessing I am, needed help to use the restroom. Another thing I have to get used to is my new, frail body. It seems like it's not going to be able to take as much damage as my robotic one," Aigis read what she was writing out loud as she was putting it down on the paper. She smiled as she shut the notebook and placed it on her desk.

"Done!" she said, taking her clothes off and throwing on a pair of pajamas that she found in her closet. They were sky blue, and they had little pictures of Jack Frost on them. She always found Jack Frost to be adorable. She laid down in bed and shut her eyes. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 2: Shadow Assault<br>_

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><p>"How are the two of them?" a voice asked, looking at Mitsuru. She, Yukari, and another man wearing a brown coat were standing in the meeting room at the highest floor of the dorm, watching the security camera footage of the rooms.<p>

"The two of them are doing fine, Ikutsuki-san. Nothing has happened to the two of them since they've moved into the dorm, but this is the first time that we are going to see them when the Dark Hour hits," Mitsuru explained. Shuji Ikutsuki shifted his glasses up as he watched the video footage.

"Minato Arisato, whose parents were killed in a car accident that was related to Shadows, and this mysterious girl, Aigis... who we have little information about. All that we know about her is that didn't have any parents to take care of her, and was an orphan for a long time. I wonder... what kind of secrets do the two of you hold?" Ikutsuki asked openly, smirking at the monitor.

"Is it really okay for us to spy on them like this? I mean... isn't this an invasion of privacy?" Yukari asked, looking around nervously. She really should be sleeping herself, but since they had off from school tomorrow, Mitsuru called her into the meeting room to review the footage with her. Currently, they were keeping track of the two new dorm residents, to see if they had the potential to stay in the Dark Hour, and to have a Persona. Ikutsuki had said that Mitsuru should recruit as many as she was able to SEES so that they could get rid of the Dark Hour once and for all, and so two people in one was an offer that Mitsuru couldn't refuse, even if she felt bad about spying on them. She had promised herself that she wouldn't do it anymore if she confirmed that they had the potential, however.

"For now, it's fine, Takeba. We have to do this. It's to ensure that we have more people that can help us fight the Dark Hour and the Shadows. Don't you want to get rid of it?" Mitsuru asked her.

"I hate it when you pull that card. It's not fair," Yukari huffed.

A noise that came from a speaker that was located on the desk where the monitor was interrupted Yukari and Mitsuru's conversation, startling them in the process. It was Akihiko on the other end of the intercom.

"Mitsuru, are you there!?" his frantic voice asked hurriedly. He seemed like he was out of breath. What could he have been doing?

"Akihiko, what is it? What's the matter?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"There's a giant Shadow out here! It's been chasing me around for a while now, and I'm sorry to say that I led it over here so all three of us could take it on. This one is tough, even for me," Akihiko informed.

Mitsuru looked at Yukari, who nodded in response to the silent question that she was asking. The two ran downstairs, grabbing weapons that were resting against the walls.

"Takeba, go get Aigis and Arisato and tell them to get out of here! Then, come back down and assist me with this Shadow!" Mitsuru commanded, running down the stairs. Yukari nodded her head and split up with the red head at the third floor, running to the door that led into Aigis's room and banging on it very hard.

"Aigis, you have to wake up and get Minato! Then, you have to get out of here! Something's attacking the dorm!" she screamed. Not checking to see if Aigis heard her or not, Yukari jumped down the stairs to join Mitsuru.

Meanwhile, in Aigis's room, said blonde was violently woken up by a loud noise and some directions that weren't really clear to her. All she understood were the words "Minato" and "attacking the dorm". Aigis figured that there was a Shadow attacking, looking out of her window to see the green sky of the Dark Hour that she hoped to never see again.

Aigis quickly changed out of her pajamas and into her school uniform, seeing as though she had no other clothing options for her, and ran out of her room. She had no weapon, but she wasn't willing to go down without a fight. She ran down to Minato's room and knocked on the door as hard as Yukari did to hers.

"The hell is going on out there!?" an irritated voice yelled. Minato opened the door, an angered expression on his face. Aigis couldn't help but find the way he looked cute. He had his headphones wrapped around his neck, and was wearing his own dark blue pajamas with white stripes going down. His normally nearly perfectly combed blue hair was shooting out wildly, making it look like he had a blue afro. Aigis stifled a giggle before calming herself.

"Minato-kun, there's something attacking the dorm, and Yukari told us that we had to get out of here," Aigis informed. Minato looked at her like she was crazy, but then an intense rumble rocked the dorm. Minato's eyes bugged out then, realizing what she was was true. He grabbed her arm and started to run downstairs, not looking back to see Aigis blushing wildly, her face as red as a tomato. While he didn't realize it, he was holding Aigis's hand, and that meant a lot to the blonde. She never felt what his skin felt like... she loved the feeling.

Minato practically leaped down the stairs of the building and made a beeline for the fire exit. Hopefully they'd be able to escape from there. Aigis looked around and noticed that both Mitsuru and Yukari were out of sight. Where were they? Were they fighting the Shadow? Aigis recalled Minato telling her a story about something like this happening to him the first time he came to the dorm while they were hanging out in his room one day, but she never really thought it would have been as frantic as this!

"Shit! The door's locked!" Minato grunted in frustration, trying one more time to yank the fire exit open. It wouldn't budge. Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong.

"Perhaps it is because the quake that occurred a little bit beforehand broke the door," Aigis suggested. Minato started to think of somewhere else they could run to and get out of the dorm. "Why don't we try the second emergency exit on the fourth floor?" she quickly added, noticing Minato's frantic expression. Minato nodded, and grabbed her once again, running up the stairs this time. Aigis really wished that either she or he had some sort of weapon on them just in case the Shadow did wind up showing it's ugly head, but she knew that it was just wishful thinking.

She hoped that Yukari and Mitsuru were okay. From what she could gather, they were fighting the Shadow that was attacking to buy her and Minato time to get out of the dorm. They didn't think that the two had access to using their Personas, but they were wrong on one account. Aigis was sure that she could still feel Athena's presence in her mind, and since she and the other Shadow Operatives went through such rigorous training for their Personas, she could summon Athena without the use of an evoker now. It wasn't like she needed one anyway, as she had a module for that. However, just in case that module malfunctioned, she trained herself just like Akihiko did.

The two finally reached the fourth floor, and Minato leaped towards the door that would take them to the roof, kicking it wide open. Aigis stared in awe at the display of strength, forgetting that even for his size and stature, Minato was almost as strong as Akihiko, and recalled watching the two having a pretty even arm wrestling match with one another. She followed Minato out to the roof, and looked around for the nearest ladder that could take them down. The first day that she came to the dorm in the past, she had looked around for all of the emergency exits just in case something like what was happening now happened. She was sure glad that she did, finding a ladder just on the opposite side of where she was standing. She was about to make a run for it with Minato, but all of a sudden, a giant black hand shot up into the air and slammed down onto the roof.

Aigis and Minato froze as a terrifying black beast appeared from behind the dorm. Aigis knew that it was the Shadow coming for them.

'So it looks like they weren't able to defeat the Shadow...' Aigis thought, preparing herself to do battle with it. She looked around for anything that she could use as a weapon, seeing as she couldn't use her guns on the Shadow since they didn't necessarily exist anymore.

"What the hell kind of monster is that!? It's... like the one that killed my parents!" Minato yelled, pointing at the Shadow that was crawling up onto the roof. It was a hideous thing, with a body only made of arms, with one holding a mask that represented the Magician Shadows that Aigis encountered in Tartarus, long, long ago. In four of its other hands, it was carrying multiple curved swords, each with serrated blades. If one of those got near any of them... Aigis shivered just thinking about it. That was something that she was not comfortable with.

"Persona!" Aigis yelled, wasting no time. She looked up in the sky and saw that it was full moon. That meant that she couldn't kill this Shadow. If she spared this Shadow's life, then that meant that Ikutsuki's sick plans would be put to an immediate halt. That was something she was completely content with. Just as she expected, her Persona, Athena, appeared before her, the white dress that she was wearing billowing in a sudden gust of wind.

"What is that?" Minato asked.

"I can explain this to you later! Right now, you just need to worry about keeping yourself safe, Minato-kun!" Aigis yelled, turning her head back to face the blue haired boy. Athena lifted its spear and pointed it at the Shadow, holding it like it was a sword. The Shadow took this movement as a challenge, and started to swipe at Aigis with its curved blades. Athena rose its shield and repelled all of its attacks, bouncing them off of the shield. She would have to deal severe damage to the Shadow, but not kill it. She didn't know how she was going to do that, however, as holding back was something that was not her forte.

Athena slashed at the Shadow, cutting one of its many arms off. Aigis sensed that the Shadow was getting angry at her, and rose one of the swords up into the air to slam it down on Athena. Aigis guided her Persona out of the way before anything could happen, and when the sword hit the ground, it caused the entire dormitory to rumble. Aigis had to be careful. She couldn't let anymore damage be dealt to the dormitory.

"Aigis!" a panicked voice yelled. Aigis turned her head to see Yukari running up to them. "You... you have a Persona too!? D-Don't worry, I'll help!"

Yukari grabbed at the evoker taped to her thigh and pressed it against her temple. She hesitated a moment before pulling the trigger, but before she could even invoke her Persona, the Shadow slashed at her. Aigis tried to get Athena's shield over to her in time, but it was too late. Part of Yukari's clothes were ripped open, and the evoker flew out of her hands and landed at Minato's feet, who picked it up and stared at it.

'So this is the gun that Yukari pointed at us when we first came to the dorm... this thing summons a spirit from within you, right? That's what happened to Aigis, I think. So if I use this... I can help out?' Minato thought to himself. He didn't want to stare at it attacking two girls and do nothing. That wasn't what a man was supposed to do, to him.

He rose the gun to his head, feeling both a rush of excitement and terror as he did.

"Per... so... na..." Minato whispered, pulling the trigger.

Aigis, who was in the middle of pulling Yukari away from the Shadow, froze and looked at Minato. He was smiling widely and sadistically, happy with the new power that he discovered about himself. A machine-like figure that looked oddly like him flew up into the air, and attached to its back was a very large lute. Aigis knew what this was immediately. It was her own Persona for a time, she remembered. Orpheus flew above Minato, wrapped in blue card-like objects. The objects dissipated as Orpheus spoke.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Orpheus, Master of Strings," the Persona said. Suddenly, it grasped its head and let out a scream of pain. Aigis stared at Orpheus with a frightened expression on her face. Yukari couldn't turn her head to see what was going on, but from the look on Aigis's face, she didn't want to see.

Two hands protruded from Orpheus's mouth, and then ripped the Persona open to reveal another one. Aigis couldn't mistake this one. Another one of her Personas that she used in the Abyss of Time when she had to overcome that ordeal: Thanatos. The Persona that Yukari hated to see her using. She stopped using it after they had their feud, opting to switch to her own Personas again. She recalled reveling in the joy of using Minato's Personas... using his power as her own. She realized that what she was doing was really trying to escape from the pain of losing him. By using his Personas, she thought that he was really there with her.

Thanatos drew a long katana, and charged towards the Shadow. Aigis couldn't do anything to stop it from ripping the Shadow to shreds, piece by piece. It was a brutal, gory massacre, and when it was over, the only thing left of the Shadow was a lone hand. Thanatos rose a foot over it, and slammed down on it, eliminating the Shadow. After that was done, Thanatos returned to its original form, Orpheus, and Minato dropped to the ground.

"Minato-kun!" Aigis yelled, running towards him, still carrying Yukari. She didn't know what to do. She would have to get the two of them to a hospital.

* * *

><p>"Mitsuru, give me a status report. How are things?" Ikutsuki asked, passing by the red haired beauty as she was on her way to the roof to see what was going on. She had dismissed Yukari back up there, seeing as though she and Akihiko had everything in control. They eliminated the Shadow flawlessly, but were surprised to see that it wasn't the one that Akihiko was fighting with before. Mitsuru reasoned that the Shadow had went to go and find Minato and Aigis, and sent Yukari up there to fight the Shadow for them, seeing as though they had no access to their Personas.<p>

"...Things are well. I just saw Aigis come down with both Takeba and Arisato in her arms. She told me that they needed immediate medical attention, so we put them into a hospital quickly," Mitsuru said.

It was the day after the incident occurred with the Shadow, and Mitsuru was thankful that they had the day off from school. She was sitting down with Ikutsuki and Akihiko in the lounge of the dorm.

"I see... were you or Akihiko injured?" Ikutsuki asked. The two in question shook their heads, and Ikutsuki sighed in relief. "Alright, and another thing that I would wish to ask... Aigis. There's no lie that the massive power Penthesilea sensed was her. There's no doubt that she owns a very powerful Persona. What is the verdict? Do we let her join SEES?"

"That's what I'm thinking. Her power was immense, and Arisato's... I haven't seen anything like it," Mitsuru said.

"Well then, I suppose we have it settled, then," Ikutsuki said. "As soon as Minato recovers, we will ask the two of them to join SEES," Ikutsuki said.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 3: Exposing a Traitor<em>

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><p>Aigis woke up in her bed, holding her head like she had some sort of hangover. It surely felt like it. Summoning her Persona without the use of the module that she used when she was a robot was really tiring work. She thought the had trained herself to be able to do it, but Aigis guessed she thought wrong on that part. She got up and looked around, and almost jumped out her bed when she saw Yukari sitting down on her chair, right next to the bed.<p>

"Hey, you're up! I'm so glad that you're okay... you've been out for a day," Yukari explained.

"A day...? What happened...?" Aigis asked. Yukari smiled warmly at the other girl, and adjusted herself in her chair.

"Well, after you summoned your Persona, which was really impressive, you kinda went out of it after that entire thing blew over. You didn't even realize that you were about to faint while you were walking down the stairs. Don't worry, though, I took care of the two of you. Luckily that Shadow didn't get me too bad, and I was able to patch myself up," Yukari explained. "I'm glad that you're okay, but Minato..."

"What about him!?" Aigis shot up from the bed.

"Whoa, relax girl! He was just... kinda knocked out. I guess summoning a Persona of that magnitude really tuckered him out. He's resting in the hospital that's really close to here," explained Yukari.

"Oh, that's a relief..." Aigis sighed.

"Well, today I wanted to do something special with you since you just woke up. I hope you don't mind, but I went through your closet to see if you had any other clothes, and you didn't! We're gonna go out shopping to get you some cute stuff to wear!" Yukari exclaimed, pulling Aigis by her arm and running out of her room. Once again the blonde found herself getting pulled around all over the place. She was lucky that she was still wearing her school uniform, because Yukari gave her no time to get changed.

She remembered something similar happening to her before, with Yukari and Fuuka pulling her around for clothes when she was first going to attend school in the past. Unfortunately, they couldn't find anything so they had to stick to the Gekkoukan uniform. Yukari dragged Aigis into the mall without any opposition, Aigis deciding to just roll with it. The two ran into the clothing store, and from there, Aigis could tell that today was going to be a catastrophe.

They were in the women's clothing department as fast as lightning. Yukari bobbed and weaved her way through the crowds of people that were moving through the store, still pulling Aigis with her. Aigis just rolled her eyes and let Yukari do her thing.

Yukari turned around and took a good look at Aigis.

"Hmmm... you seem like the 'plain and ordinary' type of girl, so let's get you something that fits that," Yukari said. She moved out of sight, leaving Aigis alone to look at some clothes while Yukari was picking some out for her. She realized that nothing she picked out would actually be taken home with her, because when anyone went shopping with Yukari, it was Yukari who called the shots.

She eventually came back with tons and tons of clothes. Aigis couldn't even count how many there were. Everything from skirts to shirts were lined up and heading towards her. Aigis was about ready to run away from Yukari and get the hell back to the dorm, but her fear of what was to come was preventing her from moving at all.

"Alrighty... let's get working on you!" Yukari smiled evilly. Aigis was pulled into fitting room that was located close by, and Yukari threw over a handful of the clothes she picked out. Aigis looked through them, picking out what she liked and what she didn't like. it was a massive heap of clothes, and by the end of it, there were only a few left. Aigis smiled in satisfaction as she walked out of the fitting room wearing what she liked the most. A white blouse and a skirt. It was basic, but that's what Yukari said fitted her best.

"Hey, wow! I like it!" Yukari gave her a thumbs up. "I guess the other clothes I picked out for you didn't make the fit, did they?"

"Some of them were just too... out there for my tastes," said Aigis. "I'm not really used to wearing the kind of stuff that you wear."

"Alright alright, I get it... I was shopping for myself rather than for you. I'm sorry, okay?" Yukari asked jokingly. The two shared a laugh before they both went home for the day.

* * *

><p>Room 2-45 in the Iwatodai Hospital was not a cheery one at the moment. Not that any hospital room was cheery. A skinny, pale boy was lying down on top of a bed, moving around only a little bit. He was starting to wake up.<p>

A blonde girl immediately rushed to the boy's side and held his hand.

"Minato!?" she asked. This was the fifth time that Aigis visited the boy. He was completely knocked out from overuse of his power. He couldn't tame and control it just yet, and letting it run wild like the way he did before was very detrimental to his mental health. His mind shut down through all of the pain that it was going through just to maintain the energy. He had to have a few days to recover, and to Aigis, it seemed like those days were coming to an end.

"Aigis...? What's going on?" Minato asked, finally opening his eyes and looking right into Aigis's. The blonde began to tear up as she hurriedly wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so glad that you're safe!" she yelled. Minato made an attempt to push Aigis off of him because he was not the type of person to show affection, but it seemed like Aigis had a death grip on him for the moment. Minato just sat there, his mere presence comforting the girl. She finally released him and sat back down at the chair that she was sitting on before. "You wanted to know what was going on? What happened was that you summoned a Persona for the first time, and the magnitude of summoning that thing must have knocked you out for a long time. It's been two weeks..."

"Two weeks, huh?" Minato asked. "Hey, how do you know about all of that stuff?"

"Me? Well... I learned about them a long time ago while I was still young," Aigis made up a quick lie. She couldn't just say something like 'Oh, I was a robot programmed to fight them, so I'd know everything about them.'

"I see. Did one of those things kill your parents, too?" Minato asked, looking down to the ground.

"...No. I never knew them. Minato, don't you have any other family members?" asked Aigis. If he did, he never talked about them before.

"Yeah. I got a twin sister. Her name's Minako," Minato said. "We don't talk much at all. You might see her in passing at the school, even."

"Where does she stay?" Aigis asked.

"You got me," Minato responded. "Probably with a friend or something like that. You know how girls are. You are one."

"Well, what does she look like?" asked Aigis.

"She's got brown hair tied in a ponytail, and she's got red eyes. She wears a hair clip with the roman numeral for twenty-two on it," Minato explained. "She's got skin as pale as yours, too."

"Okay," Aigis nodded with a knowing smile.

"Wait a second... you're not-"

"So, when we get back, the others want to talk to us about joining them for their cause. I've heard the news from Yukari. We should be heading back now," Aigis said, interrupting Minato. He took that as a 'yes'.

* * *

><p>Yukari was waiting for the two to come into the dorm. She greeted them with a smile, and led them up the stairs without any greetings or introductions.<p>

"What's this all about?" asked Minato, blowing a part of his hair out of his face.

"You'll see soon enough," Yukari said, opening the door to the meeting room on the fourth floor. Three people were waiting for them, sitting down in large chairs. Mitsuru, Akihiko, and the one person that Aigis wished would just disappear from the world forever, Ikutsuki, were looking at them with expectant looks on their faces.

"Hello, and welcome. Please, have a seat," Ikutsuki gestured towards the three seats that were open on the other end of the table. Aigis sat down in the middle one, with Minato and Yukari on either side of her. She stared at Ikutsuki with nothing but a look of contempt on her face.

"Who are you?" Minato asked, directing his question at Ikutsuki.

"I am Shuji Ikutsuki, and the boy next to me is Akihiko Sanada. I'm sure that you haven't been introduced," Ikutsuki said.

"How're you doing?" the white haired boy asked.

"We've called you here to discuss something very important. Would you believe me if I told you that there's more than twenty-four hours in a day? That there was one, secret one that no one but us knew about?" Ikutsuki asked.

"I wouldn't. Sounds like some kind of crazy talk," Minato said.

"Well, I would be sure that you would think of it like that. But what I am telling you is the truth. There's one hidden hour in the world that only the people that have the potential to summon a Persona- us- know about. It's called the Dark Hour," Ikutsuki explained.

"That monster that you saw that day... that was what is known as a Shadow. They're the beings that exist only in the Dark Hour, and they feed on humans. We're currently engaged in a battle against them, and we hope to rid the world of the Dark Hour someday," Mitsuru said.

"Doesn't this sound exciting?" Akihiko asked with a confident smirk on his face.

"Akihiko, this is not a game," Mitsuru pointed out with a cold glare. Akihiko instantly calmed down and sat back in his chair with a defeated look on his face. He didn't have anything to counter that, and even if he did, he knew that he would be executed. And he didn't want to experience something like that ever again.

"What this all comes down to is one simple question. You both have incredible power, and we would both like your help. My question to you is..." Ikutsuki looked at Mitsuru, who nodded and got up from her chair. She walked to one of the bookcases at the back of the room and pulled out two suitcases that were silver. She placed them on the desk that everyone was gathered around, and opened them. A gun and an armband were inside of them.

"We are what we call SEES. The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. It is our job to fight Shadows. On paper, we're an ordinary school club, but in reality, we fight Shadows during the Dark Hour. Will you two join us and lend us your powers?" Ikutsuki asked.

Aigis took this as her chance. She couldn't stand listening to him speak, and she couldn't stand that fake smile on his face as well. She had to do it. Now was the perfect chance while everyone was in the room. She stood up and slammed her hands down on the desk, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"I refuse to be one of your pawns!" Aigis yelled, looking straight into Ikutsuki's eyes. She did not want to aid him in destroying the world ever again. She was not going to be controlled by him ever again. Today was where she ended everything. Everyone's pain and suffering.

"Aigis?" Mitsuru asked, looking at Aigis in disbelief.

"This man is a fraud! He only wants our help to destroy the twelve Shadows that will undo the seal on Nyx!" Aigis pointed an accusing finger at Ikutsuki. As soon as she mentioned Nyx, Ikutsuki's composure changed. He started to get panicked, and he started to constantly push his glasses up, even if they didn't need to be pushed up anymore than they already were.

"What!?" Ikutsuki asked, glaring at Aigis.

'This girl... how does she know!?'

"I said... that you only want the Fall to happen, and this entire world to be destroyed!" Aigis said.

"Aigis, what are you talking about?" Mitsuru asked.

"You know that big Shadow that attacked the dorm? Well, there's more like that, and if we continue to kill them all, we're going to unleash the seal on Death itself, and it'll come down and destroy the world!" Aigis explained.

"Do you expect us to believe that kind of nonsense for even a second?" Akihiko asked.

"..." Aigis remained silent. She had a gut feeling that something like this was going to happen, but she just had to do it anyway.

"...That's right, little girl. You're speaking nonsense. Why would I even think of doing that? What's this Nyx thing that you're talking about anyway? The Fall? Hah! If enough people wish for it, the end of the world is going to happen? Wow... that's insane!" Ikutsuki put a confident smirk on his face.

'You've made a grave mistake, bastard,' Aigis thought. "Really now? Because I didn't mention WHY the Fall would happen, I just said that it would. You just told us all something that you shouldn't even know if you don't know what the Fall is."

His confident smirk grew into a panicked face as Mitsuru and Akihiko turned to him. "Ikutsuki... is this true?"

"I have no idea what she's talking about!" Ikutsuki defended.

"Really? Because the look on your face says it loud and clear," Akihiko said. "Now then... you wanna tell us what you're really up to?"

Once again, Ikutsuki's expression changed. He started to laugh loudly and maniacally. The atmosphere in the room changed as well. It felt... sinister. "That's right... I was going to use you all to destroy all of the Twelve Shadows that appeared underneath of the Full Moon, and then I was going to release the seal on Nyx, on that very boy himself!" He pointed at Minato. "After that... all I would have to do was wait, and then this world would be no more! This entire place is a cesspit of hatred and lies, and I'm sick of it all. Naturally, to change this all, you would have to restart the entire world itself, and that's where Nyx comes in! When Nyx descends upon the world, it will be truly cleansed of all of the filth! And then I will stand above all else and rule as King!"

"You're... mad..." Mitsuru began.

"Call me what you want, Kirijo. It doesn't change the fact that this world is a pile of filth. All that you hear on the news are murders, robberies, and other atrocities. There's no way around it. In fact, there's a crime going on right at this very second, somewhere in the world. Tell me you've never thought to yourself how much this world has gone down under when you walk though the more... cheaper sections of town," Ikutsuki said.

"If you look at all of the negatives, you're never going to see the positive. Don't you see that there's things in this world that are worth living for!?" asked Aigis.

"Nothing in this world is worth living for. People like you and me... we weren't born with that magical ticket that you call talent. Only the strong thrive in this world, and the weak are purged. The weak are those without that free pass. Don't you see yet? I'm sick and tired of this world. It needs to be destroyed," Ikutsuki explained, smiling unnervingly at the teenagers.

"Akihiko, get him. I'm calling my father," Mitsuru said, leaving the room. Aigis walked toward Ikutsuki and helped Akihiko as they both restrained him and carried him downstairs. Mitsuru was already on the phone with her father. From what Aigis could hear, he wasn't too happy to be called in the middle of the night.

"I am deeply sorry for calling you at this hour of night, however I have something that cannot wait to report to you. Shuji Ikutsuki is a traitor to our cause. He wants to release the seal on a being named Nyx, and by doing that he has to destroy these large Shadows that are more powerful than the others. I don't know what to do with him, but I feel that he will be better off in your hands," Mitsuru said.

"Mitsuru, do you hon- no... I know something similar to this. My father... he tried something like this too before he got himself killed. We will be over as soon as we can to pick Ikutsuki up. Don't let him out of your sights until then," Mitsuru's father said.

"Thank you, and goodnight father," Mitsuru said, hanging up the phone. She turned towards Ikutsuki and glared at him intensely. She couldn't believe that someone like this could exist in the world. Someone this disgusting...

"Oh, is the big bad Kirijo going to send me away?" Ikutsuki asked cockily. "You're lucky that I can't summon a Persona... but there are more people who share the same goal as me. You would do best to watch out for them... Hahahaha..."

"You're just spouting words that are meant to put fear into us. They're not working," Akihiko said. "I guess you're going away for a long time, Ikutsuki. Say your prayers. Mitsuru's father is scarier than Mitsuru herself."

Mitsuru chose to ignore that remark, and kept watching Ikutsuki. He wouldn't get away from her sights. Not at all. She had half a mind to execute him right then and there, but she decided that it was best to leave him to her father.

"What a sick person..." said Yukari, looking at Minato. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. It's not everyday that you see people like that, though. I do wonder what's going on in his mind..." Minato responded. He didn't seem to be affected by what was happening before him. Aigis didn't know whether to admire that about him or be concerned. She was happy, though. This was only one obstacle out of the way for her. Ikutsuki was no doubt going to be gone for a long time, and the only thing that she really had to worry about was Sho. But he wouldn't be coming into the picture for three years, so she had time. She would get strong, just like Minato.

The best thing that she could think of doing now was to find a way to get rid of the Dark Hour without having Minato sacrifice himself. And that was going to be a hard thing to do. But she would find the way. She believed in herself. With her friends, she could do anything. She always looked up to Yu Narukami, who had just that kind of attitude. Maybe she'd shape herself to be more like him. Seeing as though both Mitsuru and Akihiko had the situation under control, Aigis returned to her room.

As soon as she entered, she opened up the diary on her desk and started writing.

"Dear Diary, today what I was hoping to work worked. Ikutsuki's not going to ruin anything anymore. I made sure of that. I didn't think it was going to happen right away, but I'm glad that it did. Now all I need to do is find a way to get rid of the Dark Hour. Maybe the answer lies within Tartarus... Who knows? All I know is that I've got a long road ahead of me, and I plan to be at the end of it with Minato at my side. He's not going to be going anywhere. Everything's okay now. Everything's safe," Aigis wrote. She shut it and closed her eyes, going to sleep with a clear mind. One down, many others to go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 4: A New SEES<em>

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><p>As Aigis walked into school, she noticed that Junpei had a very cheeky grin on his face. When asked what he was smiling about, Junpei only shook his head and told her that 'it was nothing that she had to worry her pretty little head about'. She decided to shrug it off.<p>

Aigis was as happy as she could be for the moment. Ikutsuki was sent right to the Kirijo Headquarters and they were dealing with him as she walked through the hallways. She really didn't care what they did to him, and she really did think that they were going to kill him. She wouldn't put it past them to do so. He knew a lot of things about the Kirijo Group, and she didn't think they could afford to let him on the loose. Mitsuru's father was going to come to the dorm after school today to talk about a few things with everyone, so she had to be right home.

As soon as Aigis walked into the dorm, she was greeted with everyone sitting down in the lounge waiting for her to arrive.

"Hey, am I late?" asked Aigis, sitting down next to Minato.

"No, we're just waiting for one more person to come in," Akihiko said. "Then we can get started on what Mr. Kirijo has to say."

Aigis looked at Mitsuru's father, who was sitting across from her. He was well-built, and looked very handsome. He had an eyepatch covering his left eye. Aigis wondered how he got it.

"Heyyy! Sorry I'm late!" a voice yelled from outside. The door opened, and a cart with about five suitcases was pushed in. The person pushing it, Junpei, walked into the room too, and noticed the serious air about the room. "I walk in at a bad time?"

"No, you're actually just on time," Takeharu Kirijo said. "Please, sit down Junpei."

"Junpei's going to be here from now on?" Yukari asked. "Oh, great... now we have to throw the poster boy for sexual harassment into the mix too."

"Calm down, Takeba," Mitsuru said. "Please Father, go on."

Takeharu cleared his throat and sat upright. He looked at each and every one that was sitting on their respective chairs. He opened his mouth to speak, and started his speech. "As it was revealed to us last night, Shuji Ikutsuki is a traitor to our cause and was only working to destroy the world. For this, he's been sent to a very special Kirijo-run prison. He won't be bothering anyone anymore. What problem comes up from this, however, is the question of what we are going to do now. While I suggest that you all continue your school lives like nothing happened, the Dark Hour is nothing that one can ignore. There are Shadows still on the prowl as we speak, and I'm sure that each and every one of you wants to get rid of it as much as the next person. Which is why SEES will remain as it is, and Mitsuru will be appointed as its leader. For now, all that you can do is just protect the town from the Shadows."

"Me... as leader? Father, are you sure?" Mitsuru asked, playing with a loose strand of her red hair.

"I'm confident in your leadership skills, Mitsuru," Takeharu responded, smiling at her. "I will try my best to contact you at least once a month to check in and see how everything is going, however. There are things that we do not yet know, and if we find them out, then we could possibly find a way to end the Dark Hour for good."

"I see..." Mitsuru said, trying her best to smile back. Her father put his trust in her. She should feel proud of herself. So why was she feeling a little bit uneasy? Was it because even though she looked it, she really didn't have that great of a skill in leadership as she thought? She had to prepare herself. This could be a good time to develop those skills and become a better leader. She should thank her father for this chance. "Thank you, Father."

"I will be off now. Enjoy the school year, everyone. I look forward to seeing you graduate," Takeharu said, standing up and walking out of the dorm. As soon as the door shut, Junpei let out a long sigh.

"Jeez! That guy's pretty scary! That's your dad, senpai?" he asked.

"Yes, that's my father, Takeharu Kirijo. He's the current head of the Kirijo Group," Mitsuru explained. "Now that that's over with... Aigis. I'd like to get some information out of you. How did you know all of that?"

"Know all of what?" Aigis asked.

"Know all of what you said to Ikutsuki. I don't think that a girl such as yourself would have any knowledge on that..." Mitsuru said.

Aigis was dreading this. She knew that something like this would happen, and if she didn't make up a pretty damned convincing lie, she would probably be seen as some sort of crazy person.

"Well... I don't have any parents, so I decided to travel the world for a bit. Or at least Japan itself. While I was walking around with nowhere to go, I heard lots of things about some weird stuff that seemed supernatural. I knew that weird things were happening because of the green sky at night, which I didn't realize was the Dark Hour, and I believed that what those cultists were saying was true. When I saw Ikutsuki, and I heard about what he was doing, I just knew that he was trying to do what those cultists were trying to do," Aigis explained. She bit her lower lip, hoping that they bought that.

"I see..." Mitsuru said. "Well, I'm glad that you knew about that, or we would have had a catastrophe on our hands. There's really nothing that we can do at the moment other than fight off the Shadows. Other than that, this is just going to be a normal dorm from now on. Aigis, do you know if there's a pattern to those giant Shadows so we know not to kill them?"

"Well, they appear every full moon," Aigis said. That was simple enough, right?

"Okay. Keep in mind that we still probably will have to fight the Shadows," Akihiko said.

"In any case, as my father said, enjoy the school year. I'm sure that we're all going to have a good time together. Think of the Dark Hour as a side job for yourselves," Mitsuru said. She stood up and stretched, yawning in the process. "I think I'm going to head to bed for the day."

"I'm going to do the same," Akihiko said.

Soon, everyone was saying goodnight to each other as Junpei packed his stuff into his room with the help of Minato. Aigis smiled. Everything was going to be okay now. Sure, she would still have to fight the Shadows, but they wouldn't be fighting them as much as they did before, and she didn't have to worry about the stress of a full moon as well. Things were definitely starting to look up already.

"Thank you for this second chance, Igor-san," She whispered to herself as she pulled the covers over her.

* * *

><p>Minato walked through the halls of Gekkoukan High, about to just leave for the day like any other person would. However, something, or rather someone stopped him in his tracks. Right at his locker was a girl with brown hair. Minato recognized the way that it was tied up, and he mentally swore. He hated awkward things, and what was coming up was definitely going to be one of them. He opened his locker and braced for the worst.<p>

It seemed as if the girl noticed, too, and all they did was stare at each other before they finally got to gathering their things.

"So... heard you're at a dorm now," the girl said.

"Yeah," Minato responded.

"Do you... uh... like it?" she asked.

"It's... quite interesting, really," Minato said. "So, what's up with you? Been... quite a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. We uh... got some catchin' up to do, huh? How long's it been?"

"Exactly ten years, Minako," Minato responded. His twin looked at him with a pained expression.

"Do you hate me?" She asked.

"You were six. You didn't know what you were saying," Minato said.

"But still, that's the kind of stuff that can leave a lasting impression," Minako said. "I wanna just get this off my chest now. I'm sorry, okay? If it's any consultation, I don't blame you anymore,"

"That's good. People need to let things go," Minato responded.

"What happened to you, Minato? You're not that happy twin brother I had before," Minako frowned.

"I don't know what happened to me either. Nothing was really the same after it happened. But you've been successful, right? You're one of the most popular girls in school from what I hear. What business do you have talking to a loser like me?" Minato asked.

"Why would you ever say that? Of course I have time for you, Minato!" Minako grabbed her twin's shoulders. Minato looked into her red eyes with his grey ones. He could feel the emotion just coming off of her. Her and Aigis were similar in that regard. Their eyes always told what they were feeling. "Look, you have a cellphone, right? Of course you do. Here's my number, just give me a call if you want. I'll talk. I promise you," Minako said, handing him a slip of paper.

She took her stuff and left Minato alone, holding a slip of paper in his hands. Words alone could not express how awkward he felt right now.

"Aigis!" He yelled. She wasn't there, but he still acted like she was anyway. Right from the day that she asked him about his twin sister he knew something like this was going to happen. It was just the way that the world worked. Against him. He went home for the day as well.

* * *

><p>Minato sat in his room, looking out the half-shut window, with the piece of paper and phone at his side. Tons upon tons of crazy things happened to him not even one week after he came into the dorm. He met a girl that was already infatuated with him although he did nothing to earn it, he found out that some random dude here wanted to destroy the world, and he found out about Shadows and Personas. What's more... he actually talked to his sister in a long time.<p>

He stared at the number to his left, and thought long and hard about putting it into his phone. Was this some sort of cruel trick that she was playing on him? He recalled how they used to prank each other while they were still kids living in their home. He thought about what she said about not blaming him anymore. She had blamed the blue haired boy for their parent's death. That fact, when he learned that, hit Minato like a train.

'Why don't you do it? Don't you recall what that old man said while you were unconscious? About your special power, and how it grows...?' a voice inside of his mind asked. While he was unconscious from summoning his Persona for the first time, he had arrived in a blue room that had countless doors around it. It looked like he was in an elevator, and there was an old man with a long nose talking to him with some kind of elevator attendant standing at his side. He was told about how his power was still weak, and for it to grow, he would have to start making connections to people. He didn't understand what he meant at all, and he didn't take his advice to heart. But now, after that whole ordeal with that man, Ikutsuki, he was starting to think of things differently. Maybe having people that you can depend on wasn't such a bad idea. He always fended for himself because everyone that he knew had tried to take advantage of him. He had to let it all go.

Minato grabbed his phone and dialed the number that was written down on the piece of paper. Moving to this dorm must have been a sign for him. He had to get his life back together again, and reconnecting with Minako was just one step of the ladder.

* * *

><p>Akihiko walked out of the school with a confident look on his face. He just finished a match in boxing, and was ready to head home for the day. That is, after he showed the new guys something that he knew they were going to love. Well, at least two of them. He could tell just from looking at Junpei that he was thinking this was all like some sort of video game. While Akihiko knew he was guilty of thinking of the Dark Hour as some sort of game himself, he wasn't one to go charging recklessly into a situation without knowing at least something about it.<p>

Akihiko sighed and shut his eyes. What happened just a few days ago still troubled him. After all this time, Ikutsuki was a fraud. He sounded so convincing the day that he joined SEES. He really did think that he was planning to get rid of the Dark Hour, and here comes this girl telling him that what Ikutsuki was doing was the exact opposite, and that he wanted to destroy the world. Just like that, Ikutsuki snapped. He became hostile and sinister, and each of his words against the world stung. They were no doubt feelings that most people had, but in Ikutsuki's case, they were taken to the extreme. That man was disgusting, and just thinking about him made Akihiko's blood boil. He can't believe that he was tricked like that...

"Look! It's Akihiko-senpai!" what sounded like millions of girls' voices yelled. Akihiko took one look behind him and he knew that today was not one of his lucky days. He usually got out of school much faster than normal, so the fangirls that he's picked up over the years of his boxing career would almost never see him. He supposed that he was just unlucky today.

In any case, he had to get out of there quick before he was bombarded with requests to get his autograph, or do some other things. One of them threw herself at him, even! He just didn't understand why girls acted like that when they saw someone that was popular. Akihiko, needless to say, bolted out of there as fast as he could. On his way out of the school, however, he saw Minato, Junpei, Aigis, and some other girl with brown hair walking out of the school.

"Minato, Junpei, Aigis. What's up?" Akihiko asked, stopping in his tracks and hiding behind the gates. He took the risk of peering out from them, and saw the girls that were about to give chase to him with confused looks on their faces.

"Aww... he ran away. That's so cruel..." one of the girls said. Soon, the crowd disbanded, letting Akihiko finally get some breathing room. The four looked at him with concerned looks on their faces.

"Is everything alright, senpai?" Junpei asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just some fangirls," Akihiko said. "Who're you?" he added, directing his question towards the girl with brown hair.

"Oh, I haven't introduced you, have I? This is my twin sister, Minako," Minato said. "We just started talking again after a long time."

"Nice to meet you, then," Akihiko said.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Minako bowed.

"You three, can I speak to you alone for a quick second?" Akihiko asked. The three in question nodded and followed the silver haired boxer a little ways away from Minako, so that she couldn't hear.

"I've got some things to do after school, so I'm going to give you some money to go to the Police Box at the mall with. Tell the officer there that you're with Akihiko Sanada, and he'll tell you about the rest, okay?" Akihiko asked, handing them each a large sum of cash. Junpei's eyes bugged out at the sight of it, thinking that he scored a big one. Akihiko waved goodbye to Minako and left the three alone. They went back to Minako, who only smiled at them in return.

"So, what was that about?" Minako asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just something that senpai wants us to do for the club that we're in," Minato explained.

"Oh, alright. Well, it was fun talking to you guys! I have to go now. I'll see you all tomorrow," Minako said, waving goodbye.

"Dude... your sister is hot..." Junpei whispered to Minato. In response, he got a punch in the arm.

"We should just go do what Akihiko-senpai told us to do," Aigis said, wanting the two to break up their little fight.

* * *

><p>They walked into the police office and found that it was relatively small, and didn't really seem like a police office at all. The man at the counter eyed them as they looked around.<p>

"Did your dog go missing or something?" he asked.

"No, um... Akihiko Sanada told us to come here," Aigis said. This was Officer Kurosawa, the man who pretty much armed the entirety of SEES. He was a lifesaver for everyone. Whenever their weapons broke, they would just head to Kurosawa and not even bother getting them fixed. It wasn't so easy with Aigis, though, and she knew that she was a pain to keep armed.

"I see. I take it that you're part of that organization that he's in. Well... pick what you want," Kurosawa said, pointing to the weapons that were lined up across the wall. He had them look like they were confiscated. That was pretty sneaky of him. Minato and Junpei were currently freaking out over the sharpest swords that they could find, but Aigis saw a real beauty. Two, to be exact.

"...I'll take them," Aigis said, handing Kurosawa two gleaming white pistols. She'd never seen anything like it.

"Hm... guns, huh? Alright," Kurosawa said. Aigis paid for the guns and then quickly took them and held them in her hands, getting used to their feel. If there was one thing that Aigis loved as much as Minato, it was guns. She wouldn't let these out of her sight at all. She needed to get some more. She needed to build an arsenal of guns.

"I really don't know what's going on, but it doesn't take a genius to see that something strange is going on here. I don't know what or why these things are happening, but Sanada and you guys are pretty much the only ones who can deal with it. I hope you all stay safe, alright?" Kurosawa said.

"Thank you Officer Kurosawa," Aigis bowed, leaving the office. Minato and Junpei walked out along with her, paying for their stuff too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 5: Underneath the Full Moon<em>

* * *

><p>It vibrated again.<p>

Minato growled in frustration as he picked up his phone and read yet another text from Minako. She was bombarding his phone, and when he was trying to do something, it got a little bit annoying. He didn't have the heart to tell her to stop texting him, either.

'So, do u wanna tell me bout u & Aigis?' the text that she sent him read.

'What do you mean?', he sent back. Minato put his phone back on his desk and returned to working on the homework for the night. He had to get this done or else Mitsuru would have his head. Akihiko's told him the stories about when he forgot to do his homework. Minato couldn't help but feel bad for the upperclassman, since he was in the same class as her.

It wasn't long before Minato had to stop what he was doing and pick up the phone again.

'She totes has the hots for u. Also, talk 2 ur senpai about having me stay the dorm,' read Minako's text.

Minato knew that the next day she would ask him about it, and so he decided that he had no choice but to ask Mitsuru to let Minako into the dorm. He got up and put his pencil down on the paper. When he walked out he locked the door so that Junpei wouldn't come and steal his work. After that, he tracked down Mitsuru, who was sitting down in the lounge.

"Mitsuru-senpai, Minako has a question for you," Minato said. The red head looked up from the book that she was reading.

"I suppose that she wants to stay in the dorm with you," Mitsuru said.

"How did you know?" Minato asked.

"Because I can read it in your face. You may think that you're unreadable, but you should work on that a little bit more," responded Mitsuru. "The answer to your question is only if she wants to,"

"Alright, lemme get back to her real quick, and then I can finally finish my homework," Minato said.

"However, she will have to stay in your room. Are you okay with that?" Mitsuru asked.

"I don't really care, but alright I guess," Minato said, returning to his room and finally finishing his homework. Mitsuru smiled at him as he left.

"He kind of reminds me of you, Shinjiro," she said to herself. She knew that he wasn't in the room, or even at the dorm at all. But it was still assuring to mention him every now and then. After he left SEES, he completely disappeared. Maybe he could see what was really going on behind their backs...

* * *

><p>As Minato walked into the school, Minako had just about full on glomped him.<p>

"How'd it go?" she asked. Minato pushed her off of him and dusted himself off.

"It went just fine. Mitsuru-senpai okayed it. The only catch is that you and I have to share a room," Minato said.

"Well, what's the problem there?" Minako asked. "We shared a room when we were kids, too. I don't see why this is different."

"The one thing that I can think of is that we're opposite genders!" Minato nearly shouted.

"So what? Remember, we used to take baths together, too. We were inseparable," Minako pointed out. Minato had to agree with her. But the fact still remained that they were both grown up and they were brother and sister. Somehow... just sharing a room with her felt wrong.

"Alright, so do you want to tell me what you were talking about with Aigis?" Minato asked.

"I'm saying that I think she has a crush on you," Minako said. "We can talk about this later back at home! We gotta get into school now or we're gonna be late."

At that, the bell rang, signifying that they should really hurry into school.

* * *

><p>Junpei waited at the door in anticipation while Aigis sat down in the couch waiting silently. She didn't like the fact that Minako was moving into the dorm solely because of her inability to summon a Persona. Or so it seemed. Truthfully, she had no idea what the girl was like, and if she was related to Minato, then she must be a very... colorful person.<p>

To be honest, she wanted to get to know her better. She seemed like a very nice person when they met yesterday, and she also seemed like she was Minato's direct contrast. And they were supposed to be twins! When she heard about his twin sister, she thought that there would be a second Minato running around with his lazy and aloof attitude. But she was very wrong to think that.

As soon as the door opened, Junpei was right at it, moving as fast as lighting.

"Hey Minako-chan, lemme get those bags for you!" he said, holding his hand out. Minako smiled at him politely and shook her head.

"No, I got it. Besides, Minato's helping me with everything," Minako said. Junpei looked past her to see Minato carrying a load of heavy things ranging from suitcases to Minako's purse.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Minato attempted to shake his fist angrily at his sister, but as soon as he felt everything that he was carrying tip over, he balanced himself quickly, saving himself from a load of trouble.

Aigis walked up to Minako and held her hand out.

"Welcome to the dorm, Minako!" she said. Minako smiled at her as well and shook her hand. "I hope you like it here."

"Don't worry, I think everything's going to be just fine," Minako said, going up to Minato's room, where she was going to be staying for the rest of her time here. Mitsuru and Akihiko were sitting on the second floor, wiping some sweat from their brows. They had just done some moving, and Minato liked to keep his room like a sauna. As soon as Minako walked in, she immediately felt the effects of the humidity.

"Is this how he really keeps his room!?" she yelled, dropping her things on the second bed that was placed in there just a few minutes ago. Mitsuru and Akihiko had done a fine job of splitting the room in two so that Minato and Minako could have their own private space.

"You betcha. I went in there last night to start moving, and I had to take my shirt off it was so hot there," Akihiko said. "Come to think of it, didn't you do the same, Mitsuru?

"Speak of it, and become a popsicle," Mitsuru glared at him. The two were almost always like this. One could mistake them for lovers with the way that they bicker with each other, and to Mitsuru, that wasn't such a bad idea. But she had to stay out of any romance right now. She had a team to lead, and as a result, she couldn't weaken herself with a relationship.

Minako nodded with a concerned look on her face. Oh, she was definitely going to enjoy this year.

* * *

><p>A harsh siren woke up Aigis, forcing her to grab her guns and run upstairs quickly. She knew that tonight was the full moon and obviously something involving the Shadows was going to happen, but she wasn't expecting to be woken up like this. She was having such a nice dream too...<p>

She burst into the meeting room, where the sound was coming from, and looked around. Mitsuru and Akihiko were sitting there waiting for the members of SEES to come into the door was well.

When Minato eventually came up, Minako was right behind him.

"What's going on? Did someone break in or something?" Minako asked, yawning tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.

'You know, if that was what was really happening, shouldn't she be at least a little bit worried about it?' Minato thought.

"No... this is something that you really shouldn't know about," Akihiko said.

"Well, when I see my brother grabbing for a sword and a gun, I kinda wanna know what's going on," Minako countered. Aigis was amazed at how sweet she was keeping her voice. She sounded completely innocent, but she could feel the venom dripping from her tone.

"Alright, fine," Akihiko sighed, knowing all too well that arguing with a girl was a very difficult thing to do. "Just watch, and keep silent, alright?"

"Alright," Minako nodded, satisfied.

Mitsuru turned everyone's attention towards her, clearing her throat. She wanted to make this quick, as her Persona sensed something pretty odd happening. There was another one of those giant Shadows, just like Aigis said, but something seemed a little off about it. It was doing something that a Shadow normally wouldn't do.

"With my Persona, I sense one of the Shadows that Aigis and Ikutsuki both were talking about. It seems to be on a monorail. But it's acting rather strange. Rather than going out and attacking humans as Shadows normally do, it's just staying there, like it's waiting for us," Mitsuru explained.

"So what do you want us to do about it? Killing them's gonna release the seal on that Nyx person, right?" Minato asked.

"Yes, that's true. Which is why I only want you to detain it. That way, we can prevent it from destroying any part of the town, and we can also prevent the unsealing of this Nyx being," Mitsuru said. "Is everyone ready for the mission?"

"We'll appoint you as the leader Aigis, because you've got more experience with these Shadows that any of us," Akihiko said.

"Why does she get to be the leader? Shouldn't a big, strong guy be the one leading the team?" Junpei asked, obviously irritated that he wasn't the one who was leading the team this time around.

"A leader needs experience rather than power," Mitsuru stated, closing her eyes. Maybe she could take her own words to heart. "I'll meet you all there so that I can provide support."

"Okay," Aigis nodded. This was her first time leading a mission, but this wasn't her first time leading. Memories of the Abyss of Time came back to her, and how she had to take Minato's position as they descended into the Abyss. She turned to see Minako staring at them with a worried look on her face. Aigis shot her a smile that said 'We'll be fine, I promise,' and walked out the door.

"Can you please at least explain to me what's going on...?" asked Minako, turning to face Mitsuru.

"...I promise you that I will explain everything to you as soon as we get back," Mitsuru responding, grabbing a pair of keys off of a desk and then walking out, joining the others.

* * *

><p>As Aigis and the others arrived at their destination, Minato stopped her. He wanted to confirm something that Minako had told him about her. Was she absolutely sure that Aigis had a crush on him?<p>

"Don't worry about leading. It's actually kind of easy. All you gotta do is say something and we'll do it," he said.

"Thanks, Minato-kun," Aigis nodded.

"I wanted to ask you something. Minako told me something last night about you having some sort of crush on me. Is that true?" he asked. Aigis freezing up was one thing that made him think that she was telling the truth. He remembered how Minako had that strange ability to be able to know what someone was feeling just by one look at them.

"...Y-yes... but why do you want to know that...?" asked Aigis. Her heart was racing. Was Minato about to ask her what she thought he was about to ask her? But it was way too early for that! Like Minato said before, they've only known each other for a short time!

"Well, I just wanted to know, is all. I like knowing things," Minato said. "Unless that is, you want to go out with me or something."

"Yes!" as soon as Minato finished that sentence, Aigis almost jumped onto him. Minato found himself being tackled to the ground by a girl yet again. Having someone this loyal to him was something that he could get used to.

"Alright. Then as of today, we're going out," Minato said.

It was strange. Aigis didn't feel the same thing that she did when Minato asked her in the past, in that last month that he had alive. Those were the greatest moments of her life, sharing ice cream with him while sitting down on a bench in the station, just talking. Now, though... there was no meaning behind it. It seemed like he was just doing it to make her happy and that's it. And that wasn't okay with her in the slightest. Aigis walked towards the monorail with high hopes that _his_ feelings about her changed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona. **

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 6: Battle With the Priestess<em>

* * *

><p>The monorail was in view, and the group started to hurry towards it. If what Mitsuru said was right, it might be trying to make the monorail goop haywire and hurt people after the Dark Hour ended.<p>

"So, what'll we do if we run into one of the Shadows on the way over there?" asked Junpei, who had his hands behind his head, leisurely walking over to the monorail.

"What do you think we're going to do, idiot? We're gonna kill it!" Yukari snapped.

"Well, we'll kill it if it's not one of those giant Shadows that we're _not _supposed to kill," Minato piped in.

"Would you guys calm down? I've got experience when it comes to the Shadows, and I know that they can hear you, too," Akihiko said, breaking up the small fight that was erupting before him. Mitsuru had met up with them before, and had told them that she was going to stay behind and provide them with support while they fought with the Shadow.

"Senpai, what are the Shadows like?" Minato asked. "I've never had any experience fighting with one myself, and I'd like to at least be prepared before we get into any fights with one of them."

"Shadows are kind of like wild animals. They're unpredictable, but you can see them coming from a mile away. They've got no minds to them," responded Akihiko, putting his boxing gloves on. "We're here. You guys go up. I'll cover you from the back."

Yukari was the first one up the ladder that led into the monorail itself, warning the boys that if they looked up, she would personally rip their crotches off. Next up was Aigis, who was a little bit tamer, only blushing, giving Minato a signal that pretty much said that she was okay with him looking up her skirt.

'Man, she must be head over heels for me,' he thought, climbing up the ladder next. Then came Junpei, and finally, Akihiko.

The scenery around them was bleak. Nothing looked like what it should have looked like. Everything was gloomy and bloody, as everywhere was when it came to the Dark Hour. Aigis shivered at how silent everything was. She wished that Junpei would start ranting about the different 'cuties' that littered their school, and have Yukari yell at him because of it. One fact that bothered her the most, however, was how the coffins that were scattered around were actually people who were in some kind of comatose state while she and her friends were the only ones able to function during the Dark Hour.

Aigis wondered how those who didn't have the potential experienced the Dark Hour. Most were sleeping at twelve in the morning, so maybe they thought it was a dream? But then again, those who didn't have the potential didn't experience the Dark Hour at all.

A thought that was quite interesting crossed her mind then. If someone who didn't have the potential was watching her right before the Dark Hour happened, and when it did happen, would it look like Aigis teleported to that person?

Now wasn't the time to think about the Dark Hour right now. It was something that wasn't going to last long anyway. Not with her around. The Dark Hour would end, and there was nothing that would stop her from making that dream a reality.

"Have you boarded the monorail?" a voice inside of her mind asked. Mitsuru was contacting them with use of her Persona. She was used to this, so it didn't come as much as a surprise to her. It didn't for Akihiko, either. Junpei, on the other hand...

"Whoa! What the hell!? You're inside of my head, Mitsuru-senpai!" he screamed, clutching his head and shaking it around. He didn't like the fact that there was someone inside of his head. What if they saw all of his dirty thoughts!?

"That is the power of my Persona, Iori. Please, pay no mind to it. It's only telepathic communication," Mitsuru said. "Anyway, what you five are supposed to do is go to the end of the monorail and find the large Shadow there. What I want you to do is only detain it, knock it unconscious or something to that effect. Do not, and I repeat, do not kill it under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Junpei saluted. "I'm ready to rock and roll, baby! Let's do this!" Without another word, Junpei went charging into the next cart with his sword drawn. Everyone tried to get him to stop running, but it was too late. He left the team.

"Stupei, you idiot!" yelled Yukari. "What are we going to do now!?"

"We're gonna have to go after him, it seems," Minato said.

"I don't think that they're going to let us!" Aigis pointed towards the door that Junpei ran through. Three Shadows popped up from the ground, and everyone armed themselves, getting ready for combat. Yukari couldn't help but feel her knees shaking in fear. This was the first time that she's been in real combat, and she was afraid of how it was going to turn out.

However, before it even began, it was over. The Shadows were gone, with a sickly looking black, blood-like fluid painting the walls.

Minato turned his head to see two pistols pointed at where the Shadows were. He didn't even hear the guns fire.

"You have amazing skill with guns," Akihiko pointed out. He had to say that he was utterly dumbfounded at how Aigis killed those Shadows so fast. It was unlike anything that he'd ever seen.

"Thank you, senpai. It was nothing, though. I've hit smaller targets from farther away," Aigis said, proud that her gun skills were still as good as they were when she was a robot. She had always surprised the others with her skills, and she was satisfied to have them surprise them now. "What can I say? I'm good with a gun."

"I can see that... Well, let's move on," Minato said, pointing toward the door. "If we go through here and fight all of the Shadows, no doubt we'll find Junpei. We should hurry though, because there's no way that anyone could handle Shadows all on their own."

"Right!" Yukari nodded. As soon as she began to dart for the door, the entire monorail rumbled underneath of their feet.

"What's going on!?" Akihiko yelled, grabbing onto one of the poles in the monorail for support. Everyone else did the same, holding on for dear life. After a few seconds, the monorail stopped rumbling, but there was an even bigger problem on their hands.

"The monorail is in motion!" yelled Mitsuru, who had just seen the monorail start to move from her end. "You have to hurry to the end and get Iori, and then defeat that Shadow!"

"We know, we know!" Minato yelled, running for the door. As soon as he opened it, Aigis put her guns up and jumped in front of him. Yukari moved past the two and aimed her bow, holding an arrow in her hand. Akihiko held his hands in a defensive position, and started to look around the room for any Shadows. When they found that there were none in their sight, they moved on. Aigis went to the back and held her guns up behind the group, making sure that they were protected from both ends.

"Come on you freak! I'll take you on myself!" they heard Junpei's voice yell. He had to be close. What was he doing, fighting the Shadow right now as they walked through the monorail? Aigis didn't know whether he was incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid to be doing something like that. She put her guns away and walked towards the door to the other car. Aigis pushed it open, and as soon as she saw the Shadows that were in the room, she took her guns out again. Akihiko was on the case first, punching one of the Shadows in whatever you would call its face before getting out of the way of both an arrow and a bullet whizzing past him. Minato ran towards one of the Shadows that were floating around with a book on its head and slashed it in half in one blow.

As another Shadow was about to pounce on Minato, Aigis shot it out of the air. It fell down onto the ground, squirming around in pain. Aigis rose one foot and slammed it down on the Shadow's head, snuffing its life out. As soon as she wiped some of the black ooze off of her shoe, Junpei came into view. He was in the middle of a battle with a group of three Shadows.

"Persona!" Minato yelled, using his evoker to summon Orpheus. The Persona floated into the air before it glared at one of the Shadows that was attacking Junpei. The air around it condensed, and then exploded in a fiery rampage, Junpei dodging out of the way just in time to avoid getting burned. He turned to Minato with a look of pure disbelief on his face.

"The hell dude!?" he yelled, almost throwing his sword down onto the ground in anger.

"I should be saying the same damned thing! What were you thinking when you just ran off like that!?" Minato shot back. Junpei knew that he was wrong and could only hold his heat down in shame. Seeing this, Minato walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "Look man, just don't do that again alright?"

"Yeah," Junpei said, lifting his spirits up a little bit.

"That goes for everyone, too. We're a team, so we should stick together. But more importantly, we're also friends, so we can't fight with each other," said Aigis. "I'm going to confirm our situation. So far, the only thing that's happened is that the monorail started moving, which I believe is part of the Shadow's influence. From this, we can infer that the Shadow is trying to crash the monorail into another one to kill multiple people. We can't let this happen."

"How are you so calm about this!?" Yukari asked.

"Don't worry, Yukari. Everything will be alright," said Aigis, walking towards the next car door. She could see the Shadow through the window that was on the door. It had the shape of a human female, and it was large enough to have its head hit the ceiling of the monorail while it was sitting down. For the most part, it seemed to be in the nude. "The Shadow's right behind this door. I'd be prepared before we do anything."

"Wow... you really are a natural born leader, Aigis!" said Junpei. He was wrong about her entirely. She definitely had what it took to be one.

Aigis smiled at herself. This was how Minato talked to everyone. She couldn't lie and say that she didn't entirely copy his personality while she was with him for his last moments. She wanted to be just like him, and when they went into the Abyss of Time, she had her chance, and she took it.

"We're ready," said Minato. Aigis opened up the door, and as soon as it was open she started to unleash an assault of bullets on it. Nearly all of them hit the Shadow, which was completely unprepared for battle.

"Ah, it feels so good to shoot things..." Aigis whispered to herself. She went in to make some room for the others to get in, and as soon as Akihiko stepped foot into the car, the battle was on.

"Remember, our mission is not to kill the Shadow, but rather detain it, or knock it out," Mitsuru reminded everyone. Everyone nodded their heads and they went on with their fight. The Shadow was blocking the way of the brakes, so they couldn't run by it to stop to the train. They had to try to move it or something to that effect, and it Aigis recalled, Yukari was skilled at wind attacks. So maybe she could have her blow a gust of wind that was so strong it could blow the Shadow away? She hoped so. Whatever the case was, she had to defeat the Shadow quick so that they could stop the monorail from colliding with the other one that was going this way.

"Persona!" with just the thought of it, Aigis summoned Athena out. The Persona rose its spear into the air and then slammed down. She never used this move often, but she had to use moves that wouldn't kill the Shadow immediately. A red wave of energy shot through the ground and the Shadow was blown back, seemingly getting shoved into the little area where the controls where.

"Wow, she doesn't even need to use an evoker to summon her Persona!" Junpei noted.

"Amazing... so how long has she had her Persona...?" wondered Akihiko, weaving through some icicles that the Shadow shot his way. He punched it in the kneecap and then backed away from it as fast as he could. He didn't want to get caught in one of its attacks. They seemed like they would definitely hurt if he was caught in one, and ice wasn't his forte either. He found it quite ironic that ice would trip him up as much as it did, seeing as though Mitsuru was an ice wielder herself. He couldn't wait to see what Junpei, Minato, and Aigis could do with their Personas. Minato seemed like he was more fire oriented, and Junpei seemed the same, and from what he was seeing from Aigis's, her skills were all around. She must have quite the experience if she could be doing that.

The Shadow was once again shoved back by one of Aigis's attacks, and she smirked in satisfaction as she fired a few bullets at it as well. She was glad to see that while she hasn't used Akasha Arts in a while, it was still as powerful as she remembered. Minato and the others stared at her in shock. This frail-looking girl could do that much damage to a Shadow? Minato supposed that there was a first time for everything. Maybe he shouldn't screw around with her as much as he was. He was starting to regret his abrupt decision to make her his girlfriend. She was friggin' insane!

Minato snapped out of his stupor and summoned Orpheus to help Athena out. While he couldn't do much compared to her, Minato was sure that she could use as much help as she got. Aigis, seeing a large fireball, smiled knowing that Minato was coming to help. Everyone had started to get into the fray, and suddenly, the Shadow's head drooped down. They had completely overpowered it.

"Alright it's down! Stop attacking!" yelled Aigis. As soon as she said that she ran towards the brakes, Minato joining her. She grabbed the lever and pulled on it as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge. Minato saw her struggling and grabbed it along with her, his hands overlapping hers. Aigis's face went as red as a tomato as they pulled it back just in the nick of time. Before the monorail could collide with the other, it came to an abrupt stop.

The two walked out with a sigh of relief. They had just prevented a disaster.

"Oh man... I thought that my life was coming to an end! You know how much it sucks to die young? Think of all the babes!" Junpei yelled. Aigis fell silent, remembering how Minato died young in her time.

"Anyway, we should head back. Mitsuru must be worried sick about us," Akihiko advised.

With that, SEES returned to the dorm with thier mission accomplished. Aigis wondered what would happen to the Shadow. Would it just.. disappear? What mattered though, was the fact that they were safe.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 7: Minako Joins SEES<br>_

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><p>"So, how did it all go?" asked Mitsuru's father. He came to visit them, hearing about what happened during full moons from Mitsuru. And after he found out that their lives had been put in serious danger, he was worried sick about them as well. He never thought of himself as a caring man, but when it came to his family and his family's friends, he would be there for them as fast as he could.<p>

"The mission was successful. We detained the Shadow without killing it, and we stopped the monorail from crashing into the other one. The crisis was averted," Mitsuru responded.

"I'm glad," Takeharu sighed in relief. "Don't forget that your midterms are coming up. I expect you all to study well for them. There will be a surprise for you if you do."

"Really? What kind of surprise?" Aigis asked.

"Well, that's for you to find out," Takeharu laughed to himself and stood up. As he walked out of the room, he thought about how Aigis reminded him of Mitsuru in her younger years. Always curious and full of wonder...

"Well then... Minako, if you would follow me, I've got some explaining to do, I believe," Mitsuru said, motioning for the girl to follow her away from the others.

"What's going on?" Akihiko asked.

"Minako was talking to me about it last night before we went to bed. She said that she wanted to be a part of SEES too," Minato informed.

"Do you really think that she has the potential to summon a Persona?" Junpei asked.

"Minato-kun and Minako are twins, so they must both have the potential. Twins are very similar, you know. But there is that off chance that they might have nothing in common..." Aigis trailed off, thinking that nothing about those two were alike.

"Nah, she's pretty much a female version of me. Only difference is that she's more of an extrovert," Minato said.

"Really? I haven't seen her do anything like you once!" Junpei said.

"That's because she's not near you all the time, like I am," Minato said.

"So, how do you guys think you're going to do on the midterms?" asked Yukari.

"I think I'll do just fine, maybe a little bit better. Who knows? I don't really study that much," admitted Minato.

"I've been attacking the books, as they say, so I think that I'm going to do fine," Aigis said. She knew that she got part of that wrong somewhere, but she didn't care right now.

"It's hitting the books, Aigis," Minato pointed out.

Minako came back along with Mitsuru. She had a happy smile on her face as she jumped on top of Minato, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Minato couldn't help but feel very uncomfortable when she did this to him. He knew that Minako was more of the touchy-feely type, but she was acting like he was her boyfriend or something.

"What are you so happy about this time?" Minato asked, rolling his eyes.

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be a part of SEES! I get to fight alongside you, Brother!" Minako beamed.

"That's great, Minako-chan!" Junpei gave her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, pretty great..." Minato trailed off. Minako noticed the disappointment in his voice immediately.

* * *

><p>Aigis dipped herself in to the water, letting out a sigh of relief. She'd been waiting for the chance to do this.<p>

'So glad I decided to do this first thing I got the chance... now I know why everyone loves baths... they're so relaxing, and they give you good time to think,' Aigis thought to herself. She was making a checklist of things that she needed to know how to do so she could fit in with being a human long before anything related to SEES started, and taking a bath was one of the things that she did first, seeing as though no one would really like her if she smelled all the time.

"Minako's joining SEES now, huh?" Aigis asked openly, dipping herself into the water even more. She loved feeling the water surround her entire body. "I saw huge disappointment spread across Minato-kun's face... I wonder if he didn't want her in SEES..."

She wouldn't be too far off, there, she thought. Maybe Minato wanted to protect his twin sister from the Shadows, and he saw her as some sort of little princess that should be protected all the time. Well, no... Minato was not like that. That much Aigis knew for sure.

She let out a sigh. Something about the way that Minato told her that he would go out with her was just bothering her. Did something go on between him and someone that involved her and Minato just decided to date her and be done with whatever it was? Minato wasn't like that, right?

The truth is, she didn't know what Minato was like before the events that took place in Yakushima. Right now he seemed like a nice enough person, he was just detached from everything is all. But sometimes she couldn't help but think that he's using everyone to his advantage sometimes.

"Minato-kun, just what's going on inside of that head of yours?" Aigis asked herself, grabbing the soap and beginning to wash herself. She looked down at her naked body, still getting used to that sight. It was just so odd to have skin there instead of metal.

* * *

><p>Minako and Minato were laying down in their bed, with Minato peacefully sleeping with his headphones on. Minako, however, wasn't. Something was on her mind, and she had to voice it right now. She wanted to get an answer out of him.<p>

"Minato, I got a question," Minako announced, turning to face Minato. Minato groaned and turned around with an annoyed look on his face.

"What is it, Minako? It's like... two in the morning or something," Minato said.

"When you heard that I was joining you in SEES, why did you seem so disappointed?" Minako asked.

"I knew that you were going to ask me that eventually. I don't want you in SEES," Minato said simply.

"Well, why not!?" Minako asked in a hushed whisper. She didn't want to wake everyone up.

"Because... well, because I-"

"Think that I'm a princess that shouldn't have to ever get her hands dirty?" Minako interrupted.

"No, no! Not that!" defended Minato. "I'm just saying that I didn't want you in SEES because of the fact that I just wanted one of us to be... normal."

"What do you mean by that...?" Minako asked.

"Well, have you seen the things that I have to do to summon that thing that we call Personas? I have to take a fake gun to my head and shoot myself with it. I can stay up during that hellish transformation of our world. Do you realize how sad I was to see that you weren't transmogrified when the Dark Hour hit? That was the first thing that I checked for when you moved in..." said Minato. "I just want you to be safe, Minako. I don't want to lose you just like I did Mom and Dad. They didn't deserve their deaths... and you don't deserve yours."

"B-Brother..." Minako looked down, sorrowfully remembering the day that she heard her parents died. She yelled at Minato, said that it was his fault... She regretted those words the minute that she said them, but she couldn't apologize for them because Minato ran out as soon as he heard them. It was so obvious that he trusted her with everything, and those words broke that trust. She had stayed mad at the boy irrationally, and when she finally saw him again at Gekkoukan, she thought that it was her second chance to make things right with him. Now that she had that second chance, he was still defending her. He had never hated her, even after she had said that to him.

"Look, don't be sad, Minako. Since you joined, you know what you're getting into. Be prepared. I guess I have to stop treating you like a princess now..." Minato said.

"So, I heard that you started dating Aigis now. About time," Minako smiled at him, changing to topic so that she could get out of this depressing one.

"Yeah," Minato nodded. It was a hasty decision on his part, and he was beginning to regret it. And he just couldn't find it in him to break up with the girl, either. She was so sweet... she really shouldn't be in SEES. But then he remembered how she was fighting the Shadows... he couldn't follow her movements most of the time. It was like some sort of foreign dance, and it captivated him.

"You'd better treat her right, you hear me? She's a really nice girl," Minako said. "Well, I'm gonna head to sleep, because we got those exams coming up and we need all the rest that we can get. Good night, Minato."

"Night, Minako," the twins turned so that their backs were facing each other and closed their eyes.

* * *

><p>"Why did you take me here?" a somewhat annoyed voice asked. He couldn't believe that he was sitting in the Kirijo's own private home in Yakushima. It was a far ways off from what he was used to seeing, and it gave him a breath of fresh air as well. He was tired of just looking at the same bleak white walls of a lab.<p>

"Because you were used by someone by the name of Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm sure that you know him well, all things considering," Takeharu Kirijo said, leaning forward onto his desk. Currently, he was sitting down in his office with someone that he found only by the help of certain lab operatives that were investigating the private lab that Ikutsuki owned. When they told him that they found a young boy in there, he couldn't help but feel outraged at Ikutsuki's actions. Just what was he doing!?

However, something that bothered him was the fact that while the operatives said that he was very irate, the boy that was sitting in front of him now was calm, cool, and collected.

"So what do you want me to do? Tell you all of the things that he has done to me?" the boy asked, raising a brow.

"I'm sorry for asking this of you, but yes," Takeharu said.

"I see. Well, the only thing that I can really tell you about what was going on was Ikutsuki had done multiple experiments on me," the boy explained. "Nothing else happened."

"What kind of experiments did the man do to you?" Takeharu asked.

"That's something that I want to keep to myself. It's... quite horrifying, if you will."

"I see. There's just one last thing that I want to ask of you. Do you want to hurt Ikutsuki? Do you want revenge on the man for doing what he's done to you?" Takeharu asked.

"Yes. I want nothing more," the boy responded, shifting in his seat.

"Then I suppose that it's time to talk about something that my daughter is doing. Recently we have found out that Ikutsuki planed to destroy the world by killing all of these Shadows that appear under the full moon. We have dubbed the the "Arcana Shadows". These Shadows, once destroyed, will unlock the seal upon Death, who will descend upon the world under the guise of Nyx and commence something that is called the Fall. That is exactly what we are trying to prevent. My daughter is working with her friends that can summon Personas to stop that from ever happening," Takeharu explained.

"And you would like for me to assist them?" the boy asked.

"I understand if you do not want to, and I am not forcing you to, but this could be your chance to rub it in Ikutsuki's face. You're no longer his tool to use. You're your own person now, and you can make your own decisions. This is entirely your choice," Takeharu said.

"Who is their leader?" the boy shifted in his seat.

"Their leader is a girl by the name of Aigis. She is blonde, and has blue eyes. She's the most powerful Persona user in the group so far. Why do you want to know?" Takeharu asked.

"If I join their cause... then I want to see what their leader can do. If she can defeat me in battle, I'll join them. I'm sure that _he_ will agree with this as well," the boy said.

"Very well then. They are stationed in Iwatodai," Takeharu said.

"Thank you, Kirijo-san," the boy got up, and walked out of his office.

* * *

><p>The very same boy that was speaking with Takeharu was standing outside, on the beach. He put his hands on his hips and let out a deep sigh. Then, he looked towards the sky.<p>

"You know, them Kirijos ain't so bad..." he said to himself. "So, you set me up against those guys' leader, huh? Hope she's a challenge."

He walked away, a smirk plastered on his face. All he really had to do was take a boat over to Iwatodai and find a blonde girl. He was lucky that he could sense whether or not someone had the potential to summon a Persona, too, so it would be easy. And if what Takeharu said was true, then he would have no trouble spotting her because she was supposedly ultra-powerful.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: There's about a 2000% chance I don't own Persona.**

**Merry Christmas!**

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><p><em>Chapter 8: Nightmare<em>

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><p>Aigis sat at her desk with both a frightened and a confused look on her face. How she managed to get those two emotions to be plastered on there, she will never know.<p>

She stared at the midterms in front of her, trying to make sense of a few of the questions. Most, she had answered with ease as she payed attention when they were taught. But some of the ones that were on the paper were not taught at all, and seemed like she needed prior knowledge to answer them. Prior knowledge she didn't have.

She looked over to Minato, and noticed that he was doing everything expertly with ease. His pencil was flying through the paper. She then took a quick peek at Junpei, noticing that he was struggling just about as much as she was at the moment.

'I guess I just have to wing it, like usual,' Aigis thought to herself as she put down the answer that she thought was right.

* * *

><p>"They're finally over!" exclaimed Junpei, throwing his hands up into the air and his pencil along with it. The pencil bounced off of the ceiling and hit Junpei on the face as he was looking down back at the others. Minato and Aigis both laughed at him, rubbing his head where the pencil hit him. Yukari only rolled her eyes.<p>

"So, there's something that I gotta do. Akihiko-senpai told me to get the class roster for 2-E. He said that there was a Persona user in the class. I hope it's a cute girl..." Junpei said.

"Another Persona user? I wonder who it is...?" Aigis asked. Wait, wasn't Fuuka in 2-E? Yeah, she was! So, Fuuka joined not long after the first mission that they went on...

"Yeah. I finally get to do something for once, too, so I'm happy about it. Even though it's pretty much me fetching something for Akihiko-senpai," Junpei said.

"Well, what do you think you guys got on your midterms?" asked Yukari, stretching her arms into the air, relieving some of the tension that was put on her during the exams. Sometimes she would lock up when she came across a question she really had no idea what the answer was.

"I think I did good," Minato said. "I think."

"Me too," Aigis said. "I've... got some things to do. I gotta go now. See you all at the dorm."

Without another word, Aigis left, leaving everyone to wonder what she had to do.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Velvet Room... what can I do for you, my dear?" Igor asked. Aigis sat down on the chair that was across from him with a serious look on her face. She had decided that it was time to finally properly hone her powers as a Wild Card, although she refused to use any Persona that wasn't named Athena. There was one exception though, and she thought that it was time to finally use it. <em>Him.<em>

It felt weird to use the Persona that she was wanting from the compendium. It was the only one that could... _talk_ to her. And it spoke in _his_ voice... she wanted to keep that Persona forever, but she thought that by getting rid of it she was moving on. Then she realized that she was only just running away from it even more. If she wanted to truly get over the boy's death, she would have to use the Persona that he used the most.

"Igor-san, I'd like to take a Persona from the compendium," Aigis said.

"I see. Elizabeth, bring over the Persona compendium!" Igor called. From a far distance away, the two could hear Elizabeth scrambling to find the compendium. Aigis just noticed that the girl wasn't at the usual location that she was in. What was she doing?

"So, how have you been getting adjusted to everything, especially your changes?" Igor asked.

"It's been going well. I think that everything is going to turn out okay," Aigis said. "I remember hearing about Social Links from you. What are those supposed to be?"

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to ask me about that. Social Links are exactly what you may think they are. They are the power that comes from the bonds that you have made with your friends. Without knowing it, you have already made quite a few of them. Most are with your friends at the dorm. Some of them are with the people that you talk with at school, although they are weak compared to the others," Igor explained. "If you would like to check on the progress that you're making, then you can ask Elizabeth."

"Alright... so basically I can just keep on going the way that I'm going and I'll be harnessing their power?" Aigis asked. "This seems very simple."

"It is," Igor nodded. Elizabeth came over and handed Igor a card, and he in turn handed it over to Aigis. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Aigis said, taking a good look at the card, and then putting it in her pocket. She would take good care of this.

She left the Velvet Room with a nostalgic smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Aigis found herself in the middle of nowhere. She had no idea where she was. Somehow, though, she recognized this place. This was where she went to in her dreams for a time, while she was still mourning over Minato's death. She remembered a particularly nasty dream that she had while she was exploring the Abyss of Time, and that was reflected in the door that showed her past.<p>

Was this dream happening all over again?

"Weak..."

The sudden noise in the otherwise deathly silent area surprised Aigis. She started to look around for the owner of the voice, and froze when she found just what it was that was talking to her.

"You're so weak..."

The figure that was talking to her turned around, but she didn't need to know what it was. She had dreams that were similar to this, and they all ended horribly. It was her Shadow. Or, at least she thought it was. It had qualities that were very similar to a Shadow. The menacing dark aura surrounding it... the gleaming golden eyes...

"Why aren't you saying anything? You're usually ready for a fight about now... Or is it because I haven't touched a nerve yet?"

Aigis tried to ignore the girl that was facing her, not wanting to hear a second of what she had to say. It was usually something poisonous. Something that she despised.

"Or is it that you've given up? In that case..." Aigis looked on in horror as the Aigis that was standing before her started to walk forward. She tried to run away from the Shadow, only to find that her legs weren't working. Shadow Aigis laughed horrifyingly, a laugh that would forever be implanted in Aigis's mind, as she saw how much Aigis was struggling to get away from her.

"It's useless... you can't even conquer yourself... You're such a failure. How do you plan on protecting everyone when you know that you can't protect a thing? If you couldn't protect the ones that you love... then I will do it for you," Shadow Aigis taunted, finally reaching Aigis.

She saw no more of that nightmare, waking up instantly, letting out a high pitched screech. She knew that it was a dream, but what happened in that dream felt all too real. She clutched her head as she curled up into a ball in her covers. She could swear that she still heard her Shadow's laugh even as she tried to block it out with her screaming.

Soon enough, Minato busted into the room, wanting to know what had happened. All the others joined in with him, and when they saw the state that Aigis was in, they all looked at Minato expectantly, like he should be the one to fix this.

They knew that Aigis cared for Minato more than anyone else, and she would listen to him the most out of anyone at the dorm.

Minato gulped and walked up to Aigis, sitting down on the bed with her as she finally calmed down. The others left to go back to their respective rooms, thinking that Minato had a handle on things.

"Aigis, are you alright?" Minato asked. The blonde shook her head rapidly left and right. Minato sighed. It looked like she wouldn't be saying anything tonight.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" he asked.

A nod.

"I've had bad dreams before. The one I hate the most is the one where that monster that killed my parents went for me, too. It taunted me... said that I was absolutely nothing, and that I was just dirt on the bottom of its shoe. I don't think that monster really had a shoe, now that I think about it," Minato said. "But eventually, I began to laugh at it. Making fun of it as well. I told it that it had an ugly face, which it really did. Eventually, the dream became a little game for me. To see what kind of insult I could conjure up this time around. You know? I'm not good with words, that much I can tell, but the point that I'm trying to make is you shouldn't be afraid of a bad dream, no matter how bad it is. You have to remember, Aigis, that it was just a dream and nothing more. Whatever was in that pretty little head of yours was just a fabrication of your mind, that's it."

Aigis felt a little better at that. Minato said that he didn't have a way with words, but just him speaking to her was enough. She looked up at him with teary eyes, and wrapped a loose arm around him. Minato smiled at her, and decided that he was going to just stay with her for the rest of the night, wrapping her in his arms. She turned around, so that he could give her a proper hug, and smiled contently as she buried her face in his chest, gripping his shirt.

"Thank you, Minato-kun..." Aigis stuttered, closing her eyes. Minato hugged her a little bit tighter.

"My pleasure," he responded.

Somehow, holding the girl in his arms felt right to him. He felt like he should stay with her and protect her from everything that was trying to do her harm. He wished that he could go into that dream that she had and kick whatever was scaring her's ass. Maybe he was right to ask her out.

"I'll stay by your side tonight, Aigis. Don't worry," he said, closing his eyes as well.

Outside, in the hallway, Minako was looking into Aigis's room. She smiled to herself as she saw her brother and the girl that she could safely call one of her friends hugging each other, seemingly already asleep. She knew that it was the right choice for Minato to go out with her. Minako walked back to Minato and her's room with a satisfied look on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 9: Show Time<br>_

* * *

><p>Aigis couldn't say that the dream that she had last night had unnerved her greatly. It was unmistakeable. But how did that monster get inside of her head? If she remembered correctly, since she had a Persona didn't that mean that her Shadow couldn't appear?<p>

Or was it that her Shadow and her Persona could coexist?

What did it mean when it said that it would protect everyone for her? She could do everything just fine on her own. Her Shadow was spouting nonsense. Aigis believed that she was strong. She could protect everyone now with her power.

"Aigis, is that dream still bothering you?" asked Minato. Everyone was gathered around the lounge, doing whatever it was that they decided to do. Aigis smiled back at the boy and shook her head.

"I was just thinking about something, nothing special," Aigis responded.

"So, have you heard about the new Persona user that's in 2-E? Mitsuru-senpai went and confirmed it yesterday. We're gonna try to recruit Fuuka Yamagishi. But I've heard that there's been some troubles lately with some bullies," Yukari said. "I wonder if she's alright..."

"I was talking to her last week," Minako said. "She seemed really really shy, kind of like Minato."

"I'm not shy," Minato countered.

"Yes, you are," Minako returned.

"No, I'm not," Minato shook his head.

"Would you two stop the family feud that's about to begin?" Akihiko asked, rubbing his temples. "I've had a rough night, and you guys are about to give me a headache."

"Sorry," both twins said at once.

"Stop talking at the same time that I do," they said once again. Deciding that an argument was inevitable, they walked upstairs to spare Akihiko the pain and continue it there.

Mitsuru walked into the lounge. She had just finished a call with her father, who had some important information for them. One was to pass something down to Aigis. Something that was important.

"That was my father on the other end," Mitsuru explained, sitting down next to Aigis. "Someone's coming for you, he said. They found someone in one of Ikutsuki's labs, and he said that he would join us only if he was happy with the skills of our leader, which in this case, is you."

"Wh-What do you mean by that, Mitsuru-senpai? Didn't your father say that you were the leader of SEES?" Aigis asked. She was going to have to fight someone? Someone that she didn't even know, either.

"I'm the leader of SEES when it comes to matters that concern us like information about Shadows and team members. However, on the field, you are the leader of the missions, as you were when we were on the monorail," Mitsuru explained. "I'd say that you should get yourself prepared. Father said that he would be waiting for you at the school during the Dark Hour, which incidentally is Tartarus..."

"Tartarus? What's that? It sounds like some sort of toothpaste," Junpei asked.

"Tartarus is the tower that our school turns into during the Dark Hour. You can think of it like the nest of the Shadows," Akihiko said. "We haven't explored in it at all because... well, there's no reason to, is there?"

"What do you mean by that? Aren't we fighting against the Shadows?" asked Yukari.

"I mean... why fight the Shadows there when we know that just killing Shadows isn't enough to stop the Dark Hour? Haven't you heard on the news recently? Apathy Syndrome cases have dropped. It's because we got rid of that Arcana Shadow," Akihiko explained.

"Well, we didn't kill it, right? So what happened to it?" Junpei asked. "Won't it just show up again?"

"I don't think that's the case. I think that those Shadows are special cases. You know, kind of like a solar eclipse," Yukari said.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Maybe those Shadows only show up once every ten years," Aigis inferred.

"Why ten?" asked Mitsuru.

"Well, didn't all that weird stuff with Death and Nyx happen ten years ago? If that's the case, then the Shadows are showing up now, ten years later. So maybe they appear every ten years," Aigis said.

"That's not a bad idea either," Akihiko said. "But we have to remember our main goal: getting rid of the Dark Hour. If we do that, then there's not going to be any more Shadows."

'Oh, you couldn't be any more wrong,' Aigis thought, thinking about the television that she would encounter three years from now. Their efforts right now weren't useless, however. Normal people would never be able to see the Shadows anymore, because they would be in their own world, never to break free from that accursed television.

Thinking of the television, Aigis wondered what those young teenagers that made up a team of investigators were doing right now. She also wondered what Labrys was going through right now, and maybe even that Sho boy as well.

She went upstairs into her room, getting ready for the fight that she was about to have tonight during the Dark Hour.

* * *

><p>Aigis shuddered with anticipation as she and the others walked towards the tower that they called Tartarus. She was ready for everyone to be surprised at it, mostly Junpei. He was the most vocal one of the group after all.<p>

"What the fuck is that!?"

Aigis smiled. She knew that he would have that kind of reaction.

"That's Tartarus. It's what our school becomes during the Dark Hour," Akihiko explained.

"Who's that over there?" Yukari pointed towards the gates of the nightmarish tower.

"Finally decided to show up? You're SEES, right?" the voice made Aigis freeze in place. She knew that voice. How could she not know that voice. That was the voice that belonged to no one else but...

"My name is Sho Minazuki! But you can just call me Sho. I'm here to fight your leader, if you didn't get the memo. I heard that she was girl, too! So, which one of you lovely ladies is it? Brunette, Red Head, Brunette number two, or Blondie?"

"I'm the leader," Aigis took a step forward. She couldn't be afraid of this boy anymore. She had to be strong. But why did Sho agree to joining them? Did he have his own reasons? "Why are you interested in joining SEES?"

"Because I want revenge on my old man. He locked me up in that damned lab of his for God-knows-how long and then just left me there to rot! Do you know how pissed off anyone would be if that happened to them? So, some guy with an eyepatch told me that joining you would be the perfect revenge for him and here I am right now, standing before you. You don't got a weapon though, Blondie? How are you gonna fight? Or is it a fight with the fists that you want?" Sho asked. A gust of wind blew by the Persona users and Plume of Dusk wielder, making his jacket billow in the wind and Aigis's hair move to the left.

It all looked like some sort of cliche showdown scene in a movie.

But Aigis didn't care about that. She cared about defeating Sho Minazuki in a fight, something that she wasn't able to do back then. She would prove to her Shadow that she had the capabilities to protect everyone by defeating him here!

_"You're so weak..."_

Sho dropped into an offensive stance, and immediately rushed towards Aigis. The others backed away, since they weren't going to interfere with their fight. From the looks of it, it seemed like the two had something that they had to settle first. Aigis deflected a punch with her arm and jabbed at Sho's chest. He caught the punch and then backed away before she could do anything else to him.

Sho ducked underneath of two kicks from Aigis and then stepped to the left to avoid a punch directed at his face. He countered her blows with a swift kick to her side. She grabbed his foot before he could bring it back and then threw him over her head. As he was down, she went to go and punch his stomach, but Sho grabbed her fist again and pushed it away, forcing it to hit the ground instead. Aigis felt a wave of pain shoot up her arm and she shook her head to relieve some of the pain. She still wasn't used to having a human body, so some things that she liked to do as a robot were not going to work. What just failed for her now was one of them. Normally she'd be able to spring back up from that with something else, but pain was a sensation that was new and unwelcome to her. She didn't like that feeling, but she would have to deal with it.

Aigis tried to remember the things that Akihiko taught her to do. She had asked him to show her some basic fighting techniques because she needed something to fall back on in case she ran out of ammo. All that she could remember at the moment were basic punches and kicks. Akihiko noticed that some of the moves that she was preforming on Sho were very similar to his own. He would ask her about that when the fight was over.

Aigis backed away from a kick that was sent her way and stepped in and punched Sho in the chest. Sho grunted in pain as he stumbled backwards. Aigis saw her chance, and added in a powerful kick to his stomach. Sho seemingly flew back a few feet before hitting the ground with a pained grunt.

"You know, I was not expecting that out of you," Sho said, wiping some blood off of his lips. Suddenly, the atmosphere around them shifted, and Sho upright, with a confident smirk on his face. His arms were resting on the hilts of his blade, and his hands were on their handles.

"I hope that you're ready. Because it's show time," Sho muttered. A card appeared above him and floated down into his open palm. "Persona."

Aigis jumped backwards just in time to avoid an eruption of black flames from the ground beneath her. She quickly summoned Athena, who threw a spear towards Sho. It was easily deflected by the Persona that he summoned, with it using its black sword seemingly made of flames to deflect it. No one else knew what was going on, but Aigis knew for sure.

Sho switched personalities. Right now, Minazuki was standing before her, not Sho. She found it confusing at first, but she quickly got used to it, noticing that his posture, speech, and mannerisms changed. She was initially surprised to see him just change out of the blue like that, since he usually announced when he was going to change personalities or something was making him very upset.

"A Persona!?" Minako yelled, looking at the cloaked figure that was floating in front of Sho.

"Tsukuyomi!" Minazuki yelled. His Persona rose a hand into the air and a sword that was made out of black fire appeared just above it. Tsukuyomi brought its hand down as fast as possible, and the sword launched towards Aigis. She charged towards it, easily blocking the blade with Athena's shield, and commanded her Persona to use its spear to slash at Tsukuyomi.

"Aigis looks like she's freaking out, doesn't she?" Minato leaned towards his sister and whispered in her ear. Minako nodded her head.

"Yeah, it looks like she's scared of what's happening right now. She's had this same expression ever since their fight started... but I don't like how Sho's acting right now. He's completely different. I don't think that something good is going to happen anytime soon," Minako explained.

"Yeah, me neither," Minato shook his head. He turned back towards Aigis and then glanced over at Sho. The both of them had their fair share of wounds covering their body from their fight, but none of them looked like they would be going down anytime soon.

Aigis ducked underneath of a red and black crossed shape wave and commanded Athena to slash with her spear once again. In response, Minazuki came charging at Aigis, drawing both of his blades with a yell. Aigis jumped over a slash at her feet and kicked Sho in the head, spinning around and landing perfectly before running toward him once more. She knew that getting up close and personal with him was not the greatest of ideas thanks to the two swords that were in his hands, but it was her only option. If she knew that he was going to draw his swords on her, then she definitely would have brought her guns with her.

"WAIT!" Minazuki shouted out. Everyone froze at once. Minazuki withdrew his swords and called Tsukuyomi back. Aigis did the same for Athena and stood perfectly still, waiting for what Minazuki was about to do.

"I am rather impressed with your fighting capabilities. You dance most elegantly. I'm satisfied with your abilities as a leader, if you can go toe to toe with me. Very well, I will join SEES, given that Kirijo-san over there agrees to it," Minazuki said.

"Anyone is welcome in our battle against the Shadows," Mitsuru nodded her head. Sho Minazuki was quite a powerful one indeed. He would be a powerful ally in their crusade.

Minazuki outstretched his hand for Aigis to take. She smiled at him and shook his hand. Sho was like a completely different person now. It was like he wasn't thinking about destroying the world and all of that stuff. Maybe it was because he started thinking about that when Ikutsuki died...? She didn't know. As soon as he released her hand, she fell backwards, with Minato running over just in time to catch her. She was knocked out from the fighting that she had done.

He smiled at her as he carried her back to the dorm along with the others. Mitsuru smiled to herself as they walked. She was glad that they were getting new members at this pace.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

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><p><em>Chapter 10: Sho and SEES<br>_

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><p>"Father, Sho Minazuki has arrived at the dorm where he will be staying as a member of SEES," Mitsuru said. She was reporting the recent happenings to her father because he told her that she should keep him informed of nearly everything they're doing.<p>

"Ah, so that means that Aigis has defeated him," Takeharu said.

"Yes. The battle took quite an unexpected turn, however. In the middle of the fight Sho had seemingly changed personalities and attacked Aigis with a Persona," Mitsuru informed.

"I see... I had reports from the others that are here that said that the boy had changed personalities while they were escorting him out of Ikutsuki's lab. I wonder if the boy has a mental disorder..." said Takeharu. Mitsuru could hear some footsteps far in the distance on her father's end. He must have guests that he has to talk to. "I have to go now, Mitsuru. Be safe."

Mitsuru put the phone down and turned towards Akihiko, who was reading the newspaper.

"What do you think, Akihiko?" she asked him. Akihiko put down the paper and looked at her in the eye.

"Sho Minazuki, right? So I'm not the only one who noticed that he started acting differently towards the end of that fight. I noticed something else, too. Aigis copied some of my boxing moves," said Akihiko.

"It seems like you're more affected by Aigis's combat skills than you are about Sho," Mitsuru pointed out. Akihiko shook his head.

"No, I was just saying," he said.

"You're definitely affected by that more," joked Mitsuru.

"Sh-Shut up!" Akihiko stuttered.

Mitsuru only laughed as she sat next to him. She looked over at the newspaper that he was reading. It was an article about how Apathy Syndrome ratings were dropping. But she could tell that there was something else that he was more focused on. Apparently a few weeks ago there was a massive fight that broke out in the back alley in the station. It didn't take a genius to know that Akihiko was thinking about Shinjiro.

"You're still thinking about him?" asked Mitsuru, tapping Akihiko on the shoulder to get his attention back.

"Shinji? Of course," Akihiko responded.

"I see," Mitsuru sat back and watched what was on the television for the day. She wanted some rest and relaxation. Being the leader of a team of teenagers was a very stressful thing. Especially when your father wanted you to give monthly reports.

* * *

><p>Aigis felt furious. While she didn't realize it yesterday, she realized today that Sho was holding back on her. She couldn't believe it. She also couldn't believe the fact that she was getting so worked up over this, either. But inwardly, she knew why. She was tired of being treated like some sort of frail girl when she wasn't.<p>

She knocked very hard on Sho's door, only to have him answer it two seconds later. She almost hit the boy in the face without realizing the door was open.

"What is it?" asked Sho. He sounded pretty irritated, but then again, who wouldn't be if you were trying to have some peace and quiet and someone started banging on your door like it was the end of the world.

"You held back on me last night, didn't you!?" accused Aigis.

"What do you mean?" asked Sho.

"I asked if you held back on me last night when we fought," Aigis said.

"Yeah, I did. Sorry. Don't like hittin' girls," Sho said.

"I'm not some kind of princess that you can just take lightly like that! I bet you called off the fight because you didn't want to hurt me too bad!" Aigis yelled.

"Yeah, so what? You want to fight me again only this time I won't hold back? Well, you're gonna have to wait for that, blondie, because I'm way too strong for you," Sho said. "I only agreed to joining SEES because it gave me something to do and I wasn't gonna be all alone. Sorry if that gets your panties in a twist."

"Well then, I think we should make a deal," suggested Aigis. "By the end of the year, I want a rematch with you. You tell me when I'm strong enough to fight you, and I'll fight you. No holding back on either's part, alright?"

"Sounds fine by me. Now, could you please leave? I'm trying to get some R&R, and although there's a pretty hot chick in front of me, I need to get that alone," Sho said, shutting the door in front of her.

Aigis turned around and started to walk back into her room when she heard a whistle from the other end of the hallway. She turned to see Minato standing there, looking at her with a smile on his face.

"Damn, you look pretty good today, Aigis!" he commented.

"Huh...?" Aigis looked down at herself and what she was wearing. She had a white blouse on and some jeans. What was attractive about that?

"You know, I don't think skirts suit you at all. It's, forgive me for saying this, too lady-like for you," Minato said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Aigis put her hands on her hips. What was he trying to say? That she acted like a boy?

"I mean that you look better in jeans than you do in a skirt. I told you I'm not good with words, right? When I was hugging you a few nights ago?" Minato asked.

"Oh. Well, thank you, Minato-kun!" Aigis smiled at him. "I heard you mumbling in your sleep then. You said something about always being there to protect me. So, promise me that you will, alright? Because I promise you that I'll never leave your side."

"Aigis... isn't it a little bit too early for saying things like that?" asked Minato, averting his eyes from the blonde girl. He couldn't help but think of her as extremely cute with that smile on her face. When he went to look back at her, he found that she was dangerously close to him. He was thinking about backing away, but he didn't want to ruin the moment for her. She grabbed his hands.

"Minato, please... just promise that to me, and I'll be happy for the rest of my life. I want to get serious now. You said that we were going to go out, but you haven't taken me anywhere or even cuddled with me at all!" Aigis scolded.

"Alright. I promise to keep you safe, Aigis," Minato said, pulling her into another hug. Aigis smiled again and broke the hug, running downstairs with a kick in her step. Minato put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Man, it feels like she's known me for years. What's up with that?" he asked himself. He shrugged and went back into his room. He had some things that he wanted to do before tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"How disgusting," remarked Minako as she and Aigis walked through the halls of the school. "I can't believe that those girls are picking on that other girl like that."<p>

"It's revolting, I know, but it's something that you have to deal with in life. There will be times when there's other that want to hurt you," Aigis said.

They had just witnessed a group of girls laughing and gossiping about a girl named Fuuka Yamagishi. Minako was utterly appalled by what they were doing, and was about to go charging in to fight them, but Aigis held her back and prevented her from doing anything rash. Aigis had the knowledge that Fuuka would make it out alright in the end, however, so she wasn't as mad as she would have been if she didn't know.

"Well, I still think it's disgusting," Minako shook her head as she turned to face Aigis. "So, I've heard that you and Minato have hugged on multiple occasions! Does this mean that you're now officially a couple?"

"Wh-what!? O-of course!" Aigis blurted out. She would have really preferred it if Minako had stayed at least a little bit more quiet about that.

"I see. Well, you tell me if he does anything at all to you, and I'll kick his ass alright?" Minako asked.

"Minako, why would you say that about your brother? Are you not siblings?" Aigis asked.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't understand seeing as though you don't have any siblings, but there's a little thing called tough love, Aigis. Sometimes you just need to be a little bit mean to your family for their own good," Minako explained. "You shouldn't do it all the time, however, or else they'd start thinking that you hate them or something!"

"I see," Aigis nodded. "So, do you know anything that Minato-kun likes? I'd like to at least get him something, you know?"

"He doesn't really like much. But I guess he'd be alright with it if you got him a new MP3 player to replace that old dinosaur that he has right now," Minako suggested. "But, enough about him, what about you? Is there anything that you like? I mean, you're my friend but I barely know you!"

"You're not lying about that..." Aigis sighed. "Well, I like guns. I always like guns. Guns are the best thing. Next to Minato-kun of course."

"Anything else? What do you like to do?"

"Shoot things. Shooting things is pretty fun," Aigis responded.

"You've got yourself a one track mind," Minako smiled at the blonde. "Let's get going home, though. It's going to be pretty late soon."

* * *

><p>"So, Minazuki, do you remember anything from when Ikutsuki was experimenting on you?" asked Mitsuru. She and Akihiko were sitting down with the red-head to get some information about him. Thankfully, he was calm today so there would be no yelling.<p>

"Unfortunately, no I do not. All that I can remember is fighting. Tons and tons of fighting," Sho responded.

"I noticed that you're pretty emotionally unstable, if you don't mind me saying. What made you like that? Ikutsuki's experiments?" Akihiko asked.

"Well, you could say that. In reality, however, I'm just another personality. I take it that since you are a Kirijo you are familiar with the 'Plume of Dusk', no? Well, inside of me, right next to my heart, is one right now. I am the personality that it has conjured up. The guardian of the boy that is lying dormant within me currently, if you will," Sho explained.

"Ikutsuki inserted one of those into you?" asked Mitsuru with an appalled expression on her face.

"Yes. For the sake of keeping things simple, you may continue to refer to me as Minazuki. However, with my more... abrasive side, refer to him as Sho, since he is the original," Sho said.

"Okay then. Is there anything else that you know, Minazuki?" Akihiko asked.

"No," he shook his head.

"Would you like to try to return to a normal life?" Mitsuru asked suddenly, catching the other two off guard.

"What do you mean by that?" Minazuki asked.

"We could put you in Gekkoukan High. You can return to a normal life, something that I'm sure that you would want, no?" asked Mitsuru.

"Gekkoukan High... that's a school, yes? I'll take you up on your offer, Kirijo. Sure," Minazuki nodded.

"How old are you? Or do you not remember even that?" asked Akihiko.

"You know, you lose a lot of information about yourself while you've been trapped in a lab for most of your life. Judging by the looks of me, I'm around sixteen years old, which I'd say is the same age as Aigis or Minato," Minazuki said.

"I'll try to have you placed in the second year classes, then," Mitsuru said. "Thank you for cooperating with is, Minazuki."

"It is my pleasure, Kirijo. But believe me when I say this. I am going to kill Ikutsuki once you get all the information that you need out of him," Minazuki said. Mitsuru only smiled at him and walked upstairs, along with Akihiko.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.  
><strong>

**Happy New Year!**

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><p><em>Chapter 11: Saving Fuuka Yamagishi<br>_

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><p>"Aigis, may I have a word with you?" asked Minazuki, breaking Aigis out of her concentration. She was sitting in the lounge of the dorm reading a book that she had picked up at the old bookstore in Iwatodai's strip mall. She had met a nice old couple there, and she had started to talk to them as well.<p>

They usually talked about whatever came to mind, but sometimes they talked about things like their son, which got awfully depressing for Aigis.

"What do you need, Minazuki-kun?" Aigis asked, putting her book down. She had gotten word off of Mitsuru on what to call Sho depending on his personalities. It was the same as last time, in her time, so it was relatively easy for her to get adjusted to it.

"I wanted to speak with you about your choice of weaponry," Minazuki said. "You use dual pistols, correct?"

"Yes, I do," Aigis nodded.

"Your dance was most elegant when we fought. I suggest that in conjunction with your guns, you use a blade of some kind for physical attacks in case you run out of ammunition. I hear that the local police station is selling weapons to you so that you may use them for your exploits. Maybe you should get a sword that is not too thick, but rather thin. Like the one that Kirijo uses," Minazuki said.

"You think I should... use a sword?" asked Aigis.

"Only as a secondary weapon," Minazuki stated. "But as I have said before, I believe that you could do good with a sword. You're a very flexible girl from what I can tell. The way that you moved in our fight was something that I could only describe as beautiful."

Aigis couldn't help but blush a little bit at the compliment. She started to think about what he had said to her. A sword would benefit her? But she had no experience in that aspect whatsoever. She was great at using guns, that was for sure, but learning a new weapon wouldn't hurt too much either, would it? She'd take him up on his offer. Aigis knew why he had said to get herself a thin sword, too. She would be able to move around quick while using it, not like the kind of sword that Minato used in battle.

"I take it that you have heard of what's going on with the girl named Fuuka Yamagishi in class 2-E, yes? What do you think of the matter?" Minazuki asked.

"I think it's disgusting that those girls are getting away with what they're doing, but I think that something weird is going on. I haven't seen Fuuka in a while either. Usually I see her in the hallway when I'm coming home with either Yukari or Minako. Also, the group of bullies kind of diminished..." Aigis said.

"So it comes down to this one last question. Right now, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Minazuki asked.

"Shadows," Aigis said.

"Then I think that we should inform everyone about this, and start investigating on what's been happening with Fuuka and those bullies," Minazuki suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Aigis agreed, walking up into her room. They would start spreading the word tomorrow, right now she just wanted to sleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow she went to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Alright class, today we've got ourselves a new student joining us. Come on in, Sho-kun!" Ms. Toriumi announced, gesturing towards the door and then beckoning the boy over into the room. Sho strode in with a confident look on his face, and Aigis's head fell into her hands. She knew this was not going to end up well already if Minazuki wasn't the one in control.<p>

"Hey, I'm Sho. Sho Minazuki. Where do I sit?" he asked.

"You can sit over there behind Aigis," Toriumi pointed to the empty desk. Aigis gulped. She was hoping that he was somewhere far away from her.

"Nice," Sho sat down behind Aigis and kicked his feet up on the desk. Ms. Toriumi seemed to notice, but payed no mind to it. Aigis guessed that she just didn't feel like dealing with anything today.

Minato turned to Aigis and flashed her a quick smile. "How's everything going?"

"We're looking for information right now, but I don't think that we're going to find anything that's really important. I'm not giving up, though. Yukari isn't either and neither is your sister. You should step up your game, Minato-kun," Aigis said.

"Fine, fine," Minato sighed, knowing that she was right. All he was doing was basically sitting around and waiting for all the information to come to him rather than go around and get it himself.

"Hey, Minato, Ai-chan, me and Akihiko-senpai are gonna go out for some ramen after school, you wanna come with?" Junpei asked. "If you want to, you can come too, Sho."

"Hey, sure thing! I got nothin' to do," said Sho.

* * *

><p>Aigis walked into the ramen store that Junpei had led them to, and instantly recognized it as the place where she and Minato used to hang out at after school during that last month before everything went wrong in her life.<p>

Akihiko was sitting down with a tall man in a red coat, sharing a bowl of ramen with him. The tall man didn't look to happy, though. Akihiko noticed them all walking in and motioned for them to come sit down with him.

"Hey. Glad you could all make it. There's someone I want you to meet," Akihiko said. He gestured to the man that was sitting next to him. "This is Shinjiro Aragaki. He's an old friend of mine from long ago."

"How're you doing?" Shinjiro asked, attempting to be polite. Aigis knew that it just wasn't in that guy's nature to be kind.

"Shinjiro here says that he knows something about the reason why Fuuka's missing," Akihiko said.

"Yeah. Those bullies that were torturing her, well, they locked her in the gymnasium, I've heard. I think she's only been in there for at least two days, though. But the weird thing is that ever since that happened, the bullies themselves are going missing. Even stranger is the fact that Yamagishi is nowhere to be found now. Someone pried open the doors to the gymnasium, and found that she wasn't there at all. No word of her's been heard of ever since," Shinjiro said.

"What do you mean? They can't just be up and vanishing like that. People don't do that," Sho pointed out.

"So, that's where I'm thinking that the Shadows have something to do with it," Akihiko said.

"The full moon's coming closer and closer, senpai," Junpei noted.

"Wait, Aki, these kids here are all part of SEES?" Shinjiro turned to his old friend.

"Yeah, why?" Akihiko asked.

"Man, it seems like they're just piling up now. I remember when it was just the three of us," Shinjiro said, referring to the times when it was just him, Mitsuru, and Akihiko.

"Why don't you come back and join us?" Akihiko asked.

"Aki... you know what happened. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to fight anymore if something like that ever happens again," Shinjiro said. Akihiko looked down at his ramen, and continued eating. The rest of the team ate in silence.

"We're... gonna save her, right?" asked Sho, breaking the silence. "The girl?"

"...Of course we will, Sho," Aigis said. "We just need to think of a way how."

* * *

><p>Aigis sat in her room with a confused look on her face. She was trying to find out the answer to the recent mystery that has popped up. Where in the world is Fuuka Yamagishi?<p>

Did something like this happen before, or is this a new thing? She wouldn't be able to tell if it was or not because of the fact that before she joined SEES, she knew nothing about what was going on before then.

Aigis started to think about the old times that she had with the members of SEES back when she was a robot. She could honestly say that looking back at it, some of the jokes that they made were pretty cruel, but funny none the less. She had always hated it when Junpei called her a toaster or something to that extent. Labrys had gotten mad at him too.

"I wonder what Junpei would say about me looking like this?" Aigis asked herself, referring to the Junpei of her time. She noticed that it was just in his nature to be somewhat perverted. He'd probably go crazy over Aigis's human body. She remembered Yukari telling her one simple fact about her old friend. If it has breasts, he loves it.

She looked down at herself and took note. These things would save her in the end, wouldn't they?

She shook her head to get her mind off of that topic and started to think about all the possibilities of where Fuuka could be. If Akihiko was right and the Shadows really did have something to do with it, then wouldn't they have to look around during the Dark Hour? But it's not that easy to send everyone alone during that period of time, seeing as though the Shadows would eventually overpower anyone. She had witnessed it herself when she was in the Abyss of Time training alone to get ready to fight the others in that horrible moment of time.

"What ever happened to Metis anyway? I get that she was a part of my consciousness that had emerged to help me past my suffering at the loss of Minato, but where did she go exactly? The last place that I saw her was in the Velvet Room when everyone was brought in after that fight with Erebus," Aigis said to herself.

"Come on, stop getting off track, Ai! You gotta get this solved! What happened to Fuuka Yamagishi!? The Shadows couldn't have dragged her into-" Aigis froze. That was just what happened, wasn't it? She had to go down and tell everyone. The full moon was tomorrow, too. Aigis couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. Of course the full moon was tomorrow.

As soon as she got downstairs, she noticed that everyone was sitting around the lounge waiting for her. Were they expecting her to figure it out on her own and come down to tell them? That was hardly fair!

"I think I've got it, but this is gonna be risky. I think that Fuuka was dragged into Tartarus by the Shadows," Aigis said. Mitsuru nodded her head knowingly.

"You know, we were just about to come up and tell you that, Ai-chan," Junpei said.

"But we appreciate you finding it out too," Mitsuru added.

Aigis made a face that was quite unlike her. It was a mix of disappointment, anger, and frustration. She was about to say something, but her mouth just hung open while her brow twitched.

"You okay there, Ai-chan? You look like someone just puked on you," Minato asked.

"Minato!" Minako put her hands over her eyes. "You just had to put that image into my mind!"

"No, I'm fine. It's just the fact that I thought that I had done something helpful..." Aigis said.

"Well, why don't you tell us what your plan is?" Akihiko asked.

"I was thinking that if we enter Tartarus the same way that Fuuka did, we might find her! If not, then we'll just have to get out of there and find another way. I'm saying we should lock ourselves in the gymnasium before the Dark Hour hits and then enter Tartarus that way," Aigis said.

"That's a good idea," Akihiko nodded. "Let's sneak into the school now. It's almost twelve."

"But how are we gonna get in there?" Mitsuru asked.

"No prob! Leave it to me!" Sho threw his head back and laughed. Somehow, Aigis didn't trust that laugh at all.

* * *

><p>They all stood outside of the school while Sho walked around it, inspecting the walls and the windows and basically everything about the school. It looked like he was really getting into what he was doing, and that was one of the things that scared Aigis. He was going to do something big, she could tell.<p>

"So, here's the plan. We'll find the key to the gymnasium, and we'll go in. But... Mitsuru, you should stay back so you can help us out from the base of Tartarus. Someone should also be there to help out Mitsuru in case anything happens to her while we're up there. There's only gonna be four of us going into Tartarus, alright?" Akihiko explained. Mitsuru seemed to agree with his plan. Of course she would need to stay back and provide scanning support in case they find a Shadow along the way to saving Fuuka, and the probability of them running into a Shadow of any kind is 100%.

"Aigis, Minato, Junpei, and Akihiko. You four should go into Tartarus," Mitsuru said. "I will stay with the rest out here."

"Okay. Let's go," Sho said, gesturing his head over to an open window. No one knew how it got open, but hey, it was a way to get into the school. Sho regretfully stood outside with Mitsuru, hearing the news about what was going on and the plan that they had. Aigis, Minato, Akihiko, and Junpei all walked into the school, giving one last reassuring look to the others outside.

"Why is your sister here, Minato?" Junpei asked. "Isn't it a bit dangerous for her to be here because she can't use a Persona?"

"I know, but she doesn't take no for an answer, so we just have to bear with it," Minato responded, wishing that he had brought a flashlight with him so that he could see.

"Let's just find the key and be done with this," Akihiko said. "I wanna save that girl fast."

"Right," the three underclassmen nodded.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 12: Fuuka's Rescue<em>

* * *

><p>"It's been quite the while before we have talked to him, has it not?" a man asked. He was with two other people. A male and female.<p>

"You're right. Could it be then that he's been compromised?" the female asked.

"It seems so. Then what do we do?" a man adjusted his glasses.

"Why don't we act for ourselves from now on? We are finally free from his clutches. No more will he command us and tell us what to do. He's not our 'commander' anymore," the man toyed with the gun in his hands.

"So what now? We live for ourselves, right?"

"I suppose," the man caught the revolver and pointed it at the moon. "The Dark Hour... there are people who want this period of time to end. We need to prevent them. They're going to take our powers away from us without us even realizing."

"Then we'll stop them. As simple as that," the female said, toying around with her white dress.

"It's decided then," The man pushed a few strands of his ghostly white hair out of the way of his face. "SEES, your worst nightmare has come."

* * *

><p>"I can't see," Junpei finally said. Everyone was crowded in the closet of the gym, waiting for the Dark Hour to come.<p>

"What's my hand on?" Minato asked. It was dark, and there was little to no room, so everyone was on top of each other. No one knew where anyone was.

"M-Minato!" Aigis yelped.

"Oh, shit!" Minato moved his hand. "Sorry, Aigis."

"Does anyone have any idea whatsoever on what time it is?" Akihiko asked, trying to get a feel for where he is.

"I think it might be around 11:30," Minato announced.

"Thirty more minutes like this!? Come on!" Aigis groaned. She kicked her leg out in frustration, but a scream from Junpei told her that it wasn't the best of ideas.

"My nuts!" Junpei yelped.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Aigis apologized immediately.

"This is some pretty bad timing. We locked ourselves in here, huh?" Minato asked.

"Yep that is exactly what we did," Akihiko slowly nodded.

"Fuck," Junpei swore. "Well, how about a scary story to liven things up? It's already dark in here so I'll just begin! There are some very strange things in this world..."

"I don't need to hear that again!" Minato shouted.

The small faction of SEES sat in silence for the rest of the time until the Dark Hour finally arrived.

* * *

><p>Mitsuru watched as the school started its terrible transformation to the tower that they called Tartarus. Everyone watched in awe as the transformation took effect.<p>

"You've never seen it happen, haven't you?" Mitsuru asked. Minako and Sho shook their heads and continued to watch the tower sprout out of the ground.

"No. I can't believe that this is what our school becomes when the Dark Hour hits..." Minako said.

"Man, there's some screwed up things in this world!" Sho put his hands on his hips. "Well, it's time to go in, right?"

"Yeah. We should contact Aigis and the others and find out where they are. Then after that, we should go and help them out as much as we can," Mitsuru said, leading the others into the tower and standing near the staircase. Minako, Sho and Yukari stood near the entrance.

"So, what do you want us to do, Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari asked.

"I think that you should just stand guard at the entrance. Keep watch of the Shadows that are coming and destroy them before they get into Tartarus so that they won't interfere with me communicating with the others upstairs," ordered Mitsuru, scanning around for Aigis and the others' location.

* * *

><p>Aigis opened her eyes and saw that she was in an unfamiliar area. This was not the gym's closet, so that meant that she was in Tartarus. She had fallen asleep while they were trapped in there, seeing as though the others had gotten mad at each other and stopped talking. There were multiple faces that lined the walls of the hallway that she was in. They each had blood pouring out of their mouths, something that unnerved her greatly.<p>

"Ai... hear me?" a voice in her head called out to her. It was Mitsuru. Was she trying to contact her? Why did it seem like the frequency was breaking up? Just how high was she?

"Mitsuru-senpai? Mitsuru-senpai, can you hear me?" Aigis asked. There was no response.

"This is so weird..." Aigis said to herself. Then, she felt that same communication link that she had with Mitsuru again. Was she trying to get back to her?

"Can you hear me...? Are you... a human...?" Aigis knew that voice all too well. It was Fuuka. But how was she contacting her if she didn't have her Persona yet? This was all too strange for Aigis's liking. She had to get out of there fast before something bad happened to anyone. Aigis started running through the halls of the tower, looking for that green little pad that she remembered showed up sometimes on the floors.

But... before that, she should focus on saving Fuuka before going down. She looked back at where she found herself before she started moving. There was no staircase that was leading down, so if she would have to scour the floor before moving on so that she didn't miss Fuuka.

"Great, and I'm alone, too. Oh well. I'll try to avoid the Shadows for now so that I don't have to waste my ammunition. Hopefully, this will just be in and out so that nothing too bad happens, and..." she looked outside and saw the full moon looming down on the city. "None of those Arcana Shadows appear."

Aigis continued through the halls of Tartarus, making her way around the large Shadows that were appearing. It was odd to her. All the Shadows that she was finding here were powerful ones that shouldn't be in the block that she was in right now. If she remembered right this was the second block. Were the Shadows affected by the full moon? Maybe that's why the Arcana Shadows appear during the full moon?

"Who are you?" the voice nearly made Aigis jump off of the tower through the window that she was looking through. She turned around quickly and saw that Fuuka was looking right at her. She was sitting down behind one of the walls so that the Shadows wouldn't find her. Aigis knelt down to get to eye level with the blue haired girl and held her hand out.

"Hi, I'm Aigis. You must be Fuuka Yamagishi. How are you doing? Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," Aigis said.

"Where is this place? I haven't seen anything like it... and I've been stuck here for a while, too! I was so scared... thank you for coming to save me, Aigis-san," Fuuka said. Aigis turned her head, hearing footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway. Akihiko, Minato, and Junpei were there each with worried looks on their faces.

"Ai-chan! You alright!?" yelled Junpei, stopping when he saw Fuuka and Aigis.

"Hey! Where did you guys head off to?" Aigis asked, helping up Fuuka. The blue haired girl turned to the new arrivals and smiled at them.

"I'm Fuuka Yamagishi, thanks for coming to save me," she said.

"Hey, no prob! It's always a pleasure to help pretty girls like you!" Junpei smirked.

"Man, just look at how high we are up here..." Minato said, looking out the window that was opened, down into the city. It looked like little tiny specks of light.

"Akihiko, can you hear me!?" a distressed voice yelled. It was Mitsuru. She was finally able to contact everyone. "You need to come down here quick! Arcana Shadows just appeared down at the base of the tower and everyone's doing their best to fight them off!"

"Mitsuru-senpai, is Minako alright!?" Minato yelled, getting worried about his twin.

"...She's been knocked out by one of them. I've kept her away from them, but I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold them off," Mitsuru informed. That was all that she needed to say, though, as Minato made a beeline for the teleporter that he saw a little further down the hall. The others followed after him, but not before Aigis gave the evoker that she kept handy over to Fuuka, saying that she should use it for protection.

* * *

><p>As soon as Aigis arrived at the base floor of Tartarus, she saw the Shadows. How could anyone not? They were huge! One was tall and thin, while the other was shorter and fat. The short and fat one had a wand in it's hand and looked like some sort of queen, while the other one had a sword in its hand and looked like some sort of twisted king.<p>

Aigis spared no time, summoning Athena and attacking the tall Shadow. The bullets she fired ricocheted off of it, sending them flying into the staircase. Athena's spear also bounced off of the shorter Shadow. She stared in disbelief. How could they resist that kind of attack?

"Aigis, the Shadows are resistant to everything that we've tried! Nothing that we've been attempting has worked so far!" Mitsuru yelled, holding Minako in her arms.

"Wait. I can help you," Fuuka said, pulling out the evoker that Aigis handed to her.

"That's not a real gun, Fuuka!" Akihiko yelled, running towards one of the Shadows and punching them. He was surprised to see that it didn't work, his fist literally bouncing back like they had some sort of force field around them. Aigis identified both of the Shadows as an Emperor, the tall one, and an Empress, the shorter one. Just as before, the Arcana Shadows were in order.

"I know it's not," Fuuka replied with a smile before firing the gun directly at her head. She was immediately surrounded by a glowing blue sphere, but if one looked above it, they would see a womanly figure popping out of it. All around the Persona that Fuuka summoned was some sort of pink dress that trailed a few feet behind it.

"Whoa, is that Fuuka's Persona...?" Junpei asked, looking at it in awe. He had never seen a Persona that was like that. He could tell that this one wasn't meant for fighting, but if it wasn't meant for fighting, what was that Persona meant for? He didn't have much time to think as one of the Shadows brought its weapon down on him, forcing him to jump out of the way, unfortunately into another one's attack. Junpei was sent flying into the clock that stood behind the stairs up into Tartarus, and fell down along with the object.

"Junpei!" Yukari screamed. She narrowed her eyes and aimed her bow at the Emperor, firing multiple arrows at one time. None of them pierced through its defenses, however, and fell harmlessly to the ground. Everyone was beginning to think that they couldn't win this fight, and that their chances were nil.

"Wait a second, why are we fighting these things!?" Minato yelled. "We're supposed to not kill them, remember!? What about that seal!?"

"I know! I tried to get out of here before, but the Shadows wouldn't let me. I tried everything... but they managed to block us in," Mitsuru said.

"Then I guess we gotta knock em out just like that last one," Minato shrugged. "Orpheus!" Orpheus appeared above Minato and strummed a note on his harp, making a blast of fire erupt right underneath of the Empress, knocking it off of its feet, even though it looked like it did nothing.

"Wait a second, that one is weak to lighting attacks!" yelled Fuuka from inside of her Persona. Aigis got right on the Shadow, charging Athena's spear with electricity. The Persona threw the spear towards the Shadow, hitting it dead on and sending it flying along with the spear into the wall. Aigis leaned forward and squinted her eyes, seeing the Shadow fall to the floor as the spear reappeared in Athena's hands, unmoving.

"One down! Thank you, Fuuka!" Aigis fist-pumped.

"Be careful! I sensed the ability to change what they're weak to and what they're not weak to with Lucia!" Fuuka warned.

"So that's how they've been avoiding any and all damage that we've been dealing to them..." Akihiko figured. "Alright, then we're just going to have to bust through them!" He ran towards the only remaining Shadow left and tried a punch. As soon as he felt his fist bounce off of the armor of the Shadow, he rose his evoker to his head using his other hand and fired, summoning Polydeuces and making a lighting bolt strike down on the Shadow. Akihiko jumped back, avoiding a sword swipe from the Shadow.

"Fuuka, what's it weak to!?" barked Akihiko, stepping to the side, dodging a downward slash from the Emperor.

"I... I don't know! I need some time before I see what it's weak to, but if you keep on hitting it, it'll change its weakness so you all need to back away from the Shadow in the meantime!" yelled Fuuka.

"So, whenever we hit it at all, it'll change its properties?" asked Junpei, turning to Fuuka, who nodded in confirmation. Everyone ceased their attacks and stood still, waiting for Fuuka to scan the Shadow fully.

"What an amazing power..." Mitsuru commented, thinking about how it was superior to her own scanning powers. She couldn't even get a read on the Shadow before it had attacked Minako, knocking her unconscious. She was surprised to see that Minato wasn't charging at them angrily, and that he was actually waiting calmly for a chance to strike. It seemed like he had changed.

"Do you have a read on it now?" Minazuki asked, tapping his foot impatiently. He had been getting into a good groove, and Fuuka telling them that whenever they hit the Shadow its properties changed, making him sit out for a while wasn't helping.

"Not yet, sorry," apologized Fuuka. The Shadow started to move towards Aigis, who had just dismissed her Persona. She fell to the floor looking at the Shadow approach her. She was too tired to move, having been running around firing at the Shadow without anything working. She had no ammo left, and no power to use her Persona anymore. She would have to wait until she recuperated, but looking at the Shadow raise its sword gave her second thoughts about that.

"Aigis, no!" Minato screamed, running towards the blonde with an outstretched hand. He was just about to reach her, and then the Shadow swung down. Aigis shut her eyes as hard and as fast as she could, expecting it to be the end. But that end never came. She opened her eyes to see that a skeletal face was staring back at her.

Aigis gasped, swearing that she knew that face from somewhere. She looked down at her hand and saw that the Persona card she took from the compendium was glowing in her hands.

"Thanatos...? I summoned you without even realizing it?" she asked herself. She felt refreshed, like a wave of energy hit her. She figured that the Persona blocked the sword slash with its coffins before it could hit her. Minato was right at her side too, looking at the Persona in awe.

"Fire! Its weakness is fire!" Fuuka yelled. Thanatos seemed to acknowledge Fuuka's advice, and it rose its arm up into the air only to bring it back down, summoning blue flames from the ground to burn the Shadow that was in front of Aigis. It fell to the ground, and before long, stopped moving. Aigis took that as a sign that it had been knocked out and Thanatos stopped the fiery assault. Aigis dismissed the Persona soon after, not being able to hold it for long. If she did, she didn't know what would happen to her.

"That was amazing..." Mitsuru whistled, turning towards the door to the outside of Tartarus. "We should get out of here before they wake up, and the Dark Hour reverts back to normal. We don't want to be sent to who knows where..."

"Right," Aigis nodded. As she walked out, Minato tapped her shoulder. She turned to face the blue haired boy.

"What do you need, Minato-kun," Aigis asked.

"I got scared, you know?" he said.

"When the Shadow was about to hurt me?" Aigis asked.

"Yeah. I thought that it was really going to kill you for a second there. Something inside of me just clicked and I knew that I had to save you. I came running for you as fast as I could. I don't know what was going on with me! I'm glad that you're safe, though. I'm gonna promise you this, though. I'm gonna protect you from anything that wants to hurt you, no matter what," Minato said. Aigis could only stare at the boy before throwing her arms around him.

'I've been waiting to hear that from you, Minato-kun,' she thought.

They resumed their walk back to the dorm holding each others hand.


	14. Chapter 14

**To answer a question that a guest left, Minato DOES have the Wild Card, it's just that he hasn't had any opportunities to use it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 13: Minako's Persona  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Hey, summer break's soon, right?" Junpei asked, turning to Minato.<p>

"Yeah. What do you wanna do?" Minato asked, watching as some students packed up their things and walked out of the classroom, gossiping about what they were going to do for summer break.

"You're makin' plans already? Summer's a month away yet!" Sho exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it's good to make plans ahead of time," Minato said, shifting in his seat so he could face him.

"We should totally hit the beach when summer comes!" Junpei yelled, startling everyone around him due to his loud outburst.

"Yeah!" Sho nodded his head in approval and gave Junpei a high five. "I'd love to chill out with some babes at the beach!"

"You guys are like rabid animals..." Aigis shook her head.

"They're just being guys, Aigis," said Yukari, staring out the window at the different students that were walking by. She seemed like she had a lot on her mind to Aigis, and she was right in that assumption. As the two girls got up, Aigis grabbed Yukari by the shoulder and turned her to face her.

"Yukari, is there something on your mind? It's been about a week after we saved Fuuka, and all that week you've been acting down like someone kicked your dog," Aigis pointed out, not being able to find a better way to put that. She had to admit, she wasn't that great with words either, so she could totally see where Minato was coming from when he said that he wasn't the best talker.

"Way to put it, Aigis," Yukari smiled, despite the fact that it was a harsh way to look at things.

"You'll have to forgive me... like Minato-kun I'm not good with words. But is there anything that you want to talk about? I'm here for you," said Aigis.

"Do you think that... Mitsuru-senpai kinda forced Fuuka to join?" Yukari asked. Mitsuru had asked Fuuka to join SEES, something that Aigis was expecting of her to do since Fuuka was a member of SEES before, and she didn't see a reason why she wouldn't be now. But then again, with things like Sho Minazuki himself being allied with them happening, she didn't know anything anymore. Aigis did notice that when Mitsuru asked the girl, Yukari looked a little bit uncomfortable, like she was forcing someone to do something they wouldn't want to do. She supposed that was what Yukari was talking about.

"Well... I don't necessarily think that she forced Fuuka in. She told Fuuka about what we do and why we do it, and then she asked her to join, it's as simple as that. If Fuuka doesn't want to join, then she doesn't have to join," Aigis said.

"I guess you have a point, but if you've been around Fuuka long enough you know she's the type of person to do anything that anyone's asked her to do, so to me it seemed like she forced her in," Yukari said.

"Fuuka's like that? I never knew..." Aigis looked surprised. "I always thought that whatever she did she was doing it for herself, and maybe to just help the person that's asked her to do whatever it is that she was doing."

"Well, it's best not to say much about it. Come on, let's go home," Yukari said.

* * *

><p>Everyone was sitting down around the meeting room's table, with Takeharu Kirijo sitting where Ikutsuki had usually sat when he was still at the dorm. He had found some time to come and see what SEES was doing, and when they told him that they had Fuuka recruited, he hurried over as fast as he could. Looking at the girl, he thought that she wasn't much, but then again, his daughter was always full of surprises. This Fuuka Yamagishi girl could very well be the next best thing that the team has.<p>

"Alright, Fuuka... I've talked to you about what we do here, and I've given you an offer to join us. I gave you at least a week's time so that you could think whatever decision you made over, and I just want you to know, whatever decision that you make, we will stand by you in that. Don't worry about not wanting to join us. We're not going to take it like it's the end of the world," said Mitsuru, smiling at the shy girl as she shifted uncomfortably in the chair she was sitting in. She's never been around this many people that she didn't know before, and this was a new and unwelcome experience for her.

"So... What is your decision, Ms. Yamagishi?" Takeharu asked. He tried his best to not sound too threatening and commanding to the girl, because he knew that when dealing with these types, they're more than likely going to get scared when someone's pressing them into something.

Yukari shot a worried look Fuuka's way. She couldn't tell what the girl was thinking. All she wanted was for Fuuka to have a normal life, which really, is what she wanted for everyone, including herself. She couldn't wait for the day that the Dark Hour ended and she could resume being just Yukari Takeba, one of the most popular girls in school, other than that plus someone who goes out during midnight to kill monsters that show up and feed on people's very emotions.

Akihiko could feel the apprehension coming from Yukari, and he couldn't say that he didn't feel the same way either. It seemed like the two Kirijos were trying to force her into it, and were just saying words that guided the girl away from that thought in just so that she would feel guilty. In other words, they were guilt tripping Fuuka into SEES, and in Akihiko's book, that wasn't okay.

"I'll do it. I don't like the feeling of just letting something like this lay," Fuuka said. "People need us, right? I want to do the best that I can to help them."

"Yamagishi, do you understand what you're getting yourself into? I'm afraid that once you get in here, there's no turning back," Mitsuru said.

Fuuka nodded in response. "I'm ready. I want to help, senpai."

"If that is what you want, then welcome to SEES. I will have your Evoker and your armband prepared and sent over from the lab. Now then, if you'll excuse me Mitsuru, I have to go and check up on a certain someone and see if they're not trying to break out," Takeharu said, getting up and walking out the door. Mitsuru smiled at her father as he left, and then turned to Fuuka.

"I will go down along with a few others to go and prepare your room. You should get everything that you own ready for when you move into the dorm," Mitsuru said. "Also, from the events of the last time that we went on a mission... I think that you should go with your brother and attempt to invoke your Persona," she turned to Minako. Minako nodded her head and turned to Minato.

"...Fine," Minato said. He still didn't like the idea of the only family that he had left going to fight and risk her life. Minako beamed and jumped up, running out of the door with an excited look on her face. Minato followed after with his hands in his pockets.

"Something is bugging him," Minazuki stated. "Those two are related, I know that much, but what does Minato have against having his sister battle alongside him?"

"I don't think anyone really knows," Akihiko said.

"He doesn't want her to fight because she's the only family that he has left. He didn't want her to join SEES in the first place, but Minako yelled at him and told him that she would be fine. He got really scared when he found out that she was knocked out by that Shadow that we fought before," said Aigis, who was watching the door where Minato and Minako exited from.

"How did you know all of that?" Junpei asked.

"I've known him for a while," Aigis said.

"If a while is two months to you, then alright..." Junpei said.

* * *

><p>"So, you're going to evoke your Persona, huh?" Minato asked, watching as Minako grabbed for Minato's evoker. Minako turned to her brother and frowned.<p>

"Why are you always so down in the dumps whenever I do something related to the Shadows?" Minako asked. "I know that you didn't want me in SEES, but come on, Minato... I'm your sister, I can take care of myself."

"Do you really want to know why I oppose you becoming a SEES member? Because you're the only family that I have left, and if I lost you, then I would lose myself. I don't care that you're a girl, or anything stupid like that. It's fine. There's girls here that are fighting the Shadow right now, and Aigis does one hell of a job better than the most of us. I'm just worried about _you_. You, the sister that I cherish. I don't want to see you hurt. When Mitsuru told me that the Shadow knocked you out when we went to go and save Fuuka, I got so crazy and worked up... I was so worried that you were hurt badly. I'm just trying to say that I want you to be safe, Minako," Minato explained.

"Minato..." Minako looked at her feet. Anything to look away from the pained expression that had befallen Minato's face. He looked like he was just about to cry. She remembered that bringing up their parents wasn't the best thing for him. It always got him in this kind of mood. She hated it when he was like this. He was so hard to talk to, and so hard to comfort. He just let himself deal with his own problems, and he wouldn't take help from anybody else. "Then I want you to teach me how to fight so that when the time comes that I do work in SEES, I'll be able to defend myself from the Shadows and maybe even wipe a few out. Would you do that for me?"

A smile made its way to Minato's face, and he nodded his head. "Sure."

"Aww, thank you!" Minako beamed.

"You're never gonna leave me alone if I say no anyway," Minato added. "So take the evoker, and just fire it. Let me show you how it's done first, though. Hand it over."

Minako walked over to her brother and put the evoker in his hands. Minato slowly rose the gun to his temple, and made sure that Minako was watching him.

"Now, all you have to do is just put it to your head, and then fire. It's not going to be that simple, if you can already tell. This is shaped like a gun for a reason. This evoker is a reminder that you have accepted your own ability to die, and the fact that you can die while you're fighting the Shadows. If you can pull the trigger on this, then you have what it takes," Minato advised. After getting a confirming nod from Minako, Minato pulled the trigger. Orpheus manifested right above Minato, staring down at the girl intensely. She couldn't help but be unnerved by the resemblance between the Persona and Minato himself. Minato handed her the gun while dismissing Orpheus, and she rose it to her head to give it a try.

Much like Minato had warned her about, Minako had started trembling, thinking that it was an actual gun. Soon, her mind started putting unnerving thoughts through her mind, like "what if this was a real gun?" and "what if this thing was actually loaded and Minato just got lucky?" but she shrugged it off and shut her eyes tightly, squeezing the trigger.

All that she heard was a small, faint little 'click', and then suddenly, a louder bang erupted through the air. A blue aura circled around her, and she looked up to see something starting to form above her. Minato stared at the Persona that was forming, finding it to look extremely similar to Orpheus.

'That's strange. Is her Persona Orpheus, too? It looks a little bit different, though,' Minato thought to himself as the Persona finished forming. It was definitely Orpheus, but it was a more feminine looking version of it, with longer brown hair and a heart shaped harp. The Persona's body was also yellowish instead of gray like Minato's Orpheus.

Minako smiled at Minato, happy that it worked the first time.

"So, how is it?" Minako asked.

"It's the same as mine, only a bit more feminine to suit you better I guess. I just wonder why it's like that," Minato said.

"I think it has something to do with the fact that we're twins. Do you think that since we're that closely related to each other we're able to evoke the same Persona?" Minako asked.

"That may be. Who knows? You've got a good point though," admitted Minato, taking his evoker back from his sister and putting it back in the holster on his waist. He waved his hand towards the dorm, and the two of them walked in. For them, it was time to go to sleep. The Dark Hour's green glow on the city faded away slowly as Minato shut the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey! I'm sorry I updated kind of late. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 has been eating up my time. **

**With that, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 14: Revelation at the Beach  
><em>

* * *

><p>Aigis walked through the halls of the school with a worried expression on her face. Wasn't Strega going to start acting up soon? She heard the rumors about a revenge website online and she didn't feel too good about it. It felt somehow familiar to her, and she thought that she knew where that familiarity was coming from.<p>

She would never forget the chilling tone of voice that Takaya had. He was someone who just didn't care about anything this world had to offer, much like Sho and Minazuki. If she really thought about it, she could compare the two of them with one another easily. They were just that similar. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately, worrying about what Ikutsuki was doing holed up in the Kirijo's lab. What were they doing to the man? What was he thinking? Was he plotting ways to escape from it? What would happen if he did escape? These questions plagued Aigis's mind at night, and she just couldn't find it in herself to get sleep because of them.

Aigis tried to keep a nice smile on her face as she walked through the mall and towards the Police station. She was going to take Minazuki's advice and try out using a sword to accompany her guns. She didn't know how to use a sword though.

'I guess I'll just teach myself,' she thought to herself.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" Officer Kurosawa asked as Aigis walked in.

Aigis gave the officer the signal that everyone had agreed on using, which was using your hand as an evoker, and his face fell almost instantaneously.

"What kind of weapon do you need?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a sword. Just anything will do, I guess," Aigis said.

"A sword, huh? Well, let me go see what I can find in the back," Kurosawa walked away from Aigis, and left her to herself. She took a good look around the store to see what kind of weapons were available to her. Some of them looked like they could really do some damage to someone, namely the axe that was hanging on the wall.

He came back shortly empty handed.

"Sorry, I don't have anything. Then again, it's not exactly easy to get weapons like these either. Maybe you should check back in a week or two," he suggested to her. Aigis nodded and left the building, looking around to see what she could do to pass the time away. Her eyes fell on the antique store that just opened up a few weeks ago. She remembered going in here for something while she was in the Abyss of Time, but it's been so long she couldn't remember what. It wasn't like she had her impeccable memory anymore. She wasn't a machine.

Maybe she would go to the store some other time. Right now she just wanted to get home.

* * *

><p>"So, what are we going to do on the next full moon? Do you guys know?" Junpei asked.<p>

"I think we're probably just going to ignore it unless the Shadow is attacking someone," Minato said. "Other than that, we're probably just going to ignore most of the full moons that don't involve us."

"It still feels like we're running away from these things... I really don't like that feeling," Yukari said. "We just need something else to do, is all. There's a few things that just aren't connecting for me."

"Yeah, me too. The one that I tend to ask myself the most is 'Who is Aigis?'. I mean, we don't really know anything about her. The only thing that we know is her name, and we don't even know her full name at that. She just... appeared. Mitsuru had said that it was okay to let her stay just because of her having the potential, but is that really okay? And how did she know all about what Ikutsuki was planning to do, anyway? Some of these things just don't add up, and it all comes pointing back to her," Akihiko said.

"Maybe we should ask her about herself when she comes back," Minako said. "I admit that even though I've been hanging out with her a lot I haven't got a clue as to who she is anyway. I asked her what she liked doing once, and all she said was that she liked Minato, like he was the only thing in the world that mattered to her. She's only known him for like two months, right? She can't be that attached to someone in that short of a time."

Just then, Aigis opened the door to the dorm and walked in, waving at everyone and going straight to her room without a word. Everyone stared at her as she went up. It was almost too convenient that she walked in just as Minako asked that question.

"What do you think?" Minato asked.

"Maybe you should ask her. She seems to be attached to you the most, so I think it'd be best," Yukari said.

"That's true... but I'll do it a little bit later. Give me some more time to watch her," Minato said.

* * *

><p>The following weeks passed by without much of a hassle. Aigis and the others studied hard throughout the weeks preparing for the finals that were coming up. As soon as they completed that, then they would move on to summer vacation. Junpei and Sho were looking forward to it a lot more than the others. It was for one reason only, however. Their grades were not the best that they could be, and Mitsuru often scolded the two about it, to which Sho would roll his eyes and walk away, and Junpei would act like he was paying attention while he was thinking about break.<p>

Minato watched Aigis a lot more carefully than he had before, taking into consideration all of the weird things about her that everyone was talking about. He was beginning to notice them too. Sometimes she would take out a photo of him that she never realized she had and just... stared at it. It unnerved him, how intense her gaze was. What was it about him that made the girl like this? Just one look at her would make anyone think she was just a normal girl, but something was definitely wrong.

Junpei was beginning to tell Minato to haul ass out of the relationship that they were in, saying that she would eventually go crazy and kill everyone that he knew and then eventually him so that they would be together forever.

Minato had dismissed that thought, saying that it was the perfect plot for one of those crazy anime that Junpei watched, and that most of those stories were completely stupid and made up.

Takeharu Kirijo would come and visit sometimes to talk to Sho and Mitsuru. No one really knew why he was talking to Sho, but they knew that he was probably just trying to spend some father daughter time with Mitsuru. Akihiko could see the happy look on Mitsuru's face whenever her father talked to her. It was like she was longing for that kind of interaction to happen.

Soon enough, finals hit, and everyone tried their best, with Minato and Aigis scoring top grades in their class. Everyone looked at the two in a different light, saying that they were the smartest kids that they knew. Aigis blushed at all the attention that she was being given by the other students. It was nothing like that while she was a robot. They all looked at her weird like she was out of place.

To her, in all honesty, she was. She even felt out of place now, knowing everything that she did while the others had no idea on what was going on.

Minako and Yukari had taken her out to go buy a swimsuit for the beach, considering that everyone had decided to go pay a visit to Mitsuru's father during summer vacation. It just so happened that his vacation home was on the beach, something that Junpei started praising the man for. Aigis had decided on buying just a basic, white swimsuit.

On the way to Yakushima, Aigis couldn't help but feel that everyone's eyes were on her, but she didn't pay it any mind right now. All she cared about was a certain thought that was plaguing her mind.

Was the robot her here, or was she not? What would happen if it saw her?

* * *

><p>"Whoa! This is where you go on vacations, senpai!? This is like something out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!" Junpei yelled, jumping around in the hall of the mansion that they were standing in. Aigis looked past the others and to the door that led downstairs into the lab where she was being kept in her time. Minato turned and looked at the her, wondering what was going on with her.<p>

"You alright, Aigis?" Minato asked, walking away from the others as the maids that appeared from both sides of the hallway grabbed their belongings and took it to their rooms for them.

"I'm fine, thanks," Aigis responded. "I'm just thinking, is all."

"What are you thinking about?" Minato asked.

"Just something that I was wondering. Ikutsuki's here, isn't he? I was wondering what he was doing right now," Aigis said.

"Yeah, me too," Minato said. "You should go and get ready. Junpei's not one to wait."

"Yeah," Aigis nodded, watching as Minato went into the boy's section. Takeharu Kirijo came out of the door that she was looking at and smiled at her.

"Hello, Aigis. How are you faring? I heard that you got impeccable grades on your midterms. I'm proud of you, and happy that you're still able to focus in school with all of the things that's going on right now," he said.

"I'm doing good, thank you Kirjo-san. I was wondering... what's Ikutsuki up to? Now that Sho's here and all, is he really gonna..."

"I somehow doubt it. Sho will know when the time comes that he can come and exact his revenge on Ikutsuki, and I'm sure that the bastard will be welcoming it with open arms. We're still prying information out of him, but that man has a shell that is tough to crack," Takeharu said. "Aigis, may I ask you something?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"How exactly did you know about what he was planning?" Takeharu asked.

"Well, since it seems that everyone wants to know what I've been doing, and they can't trust me, do you mind if I just save that for tonight when we're all in here?" Aigis asked. She had noticed that everyone was getting a little bit more wary of her as time went on. Minato was spending more time with her too, although in her eyes it was just him trying to get closer to her to know more about her. There was little interaction at all.

"Very well. Enjoy your break. You all deserve it," Takeharu walked back into the room he came out from, leaving Aigis alone in the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Man, am I glad to finally hit the beach!" Junpei cheered. "Sho, what about you? You looking forward to this too?"<p>

"Yeah. I need some rest after all those Shadows we've been killing, right?" Sho asked, looking outside and towards the ocean. "Man, what a great view. I hate just about everything in this world, but I gotta appreciate the things that nature can make."

"I think the girls are already outside. Minako's looking at the window right now, so I guess she's expecting all of us to come out," Minato said.

"Do you see Aigis? What's she up to?" Akihiko asked.

"Senpai, just chill out. You're acting like she's the next Ikutsuki. I'm sure that Aigis is someone that we can trust. She's gonna give us an explanation in due time," Minato said, putting a hand up. "Let's just go."

As soon as Junpei set foot on the beach, he jumped out into the water and a few of the others joined him. Aigis stared at them as they had fun in the water, throwing around a beach ball that Fuuka brought along with her. Minato didn't go in either, opting to lay down on a towel. Aigis looked into the forest that was behind her, wondering if she was already out, if she was even there at all. If what she was thinking was true, then her eyes would only be on Minato, not caring about anyone else there.

She decided to go take a walk in the forest, not bothering to tell everyone where she was going. She walked through, looking around for any flashes of white that she may see. Aigis eventually came across the tree that she found Minato at. Or rather, Minato found her at. There was a small puddle at the base of the tree, and she looked into it, seeing her reflection.

Aigis gasped.

She looked like an absolute mess. Her eyes had bags underneath of them, her hair was messy, no matter how much she had tried to comb it down with her hands. Her eyes didn't have that same light in them that they had from before. Her skin looked even more paler than it already was.

"Is this what I've become? This mess of a woman? Everything around me is fake. This isn't my world. This isn't my home. That boy isn't Minato. I'm not Aigis. I'm just what's left of her... He told me to be strong, to just move on... but I couldn't do it. And now because of my weakness I'm here. Here, in a fake world with fake people. Hell... even now, I'm fake myself. I was so happy when I found out that I could see Minato's face again, that I was a human... that I could be there for him. But now... just look at this!" Aigis punched the puddle of water, but her reflection stayed the same.

"I'm a mess of my former self..." Aigis fell to her knees, and just stared at the sky. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be fun, and happy... Now it's just dark and gloomy. It doesn't feel right anymore. I'll just stay here... I'll stay here like I should have when I was a robot..."

She closed her eyes and her head fell to the ground, hitting the dirt. She didn't care about anything right now. She would just sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep, until her problems washed away.

"Aigis!? Where did you go!? Everyone's worried about you!" she could hear Minato's voice calling.

No, not Minato. Fake Minato.

"Aigis, please!" he continued on. His voice was getting closer. She could hear his footsteps now. He was right there. She could feel his eyes on her. He rushed to her side, and picked her up, turning her head towards him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Go away," she snapped.

"Why should I leave you here alone like this? What's on your mind!?" Minato asked.

"You're not real. Nothing here is real. This is just a fake world..." Aigis muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Minato took her hand and placed it on his chest. "Of course I'm real! You can feel me, right?"

"You're not Minato... go away, you fake..."

"My name's Minato Arisato, Aigis! I'm the only one alive!" Minato said. "Why are you talking like that?"

"You're not him. You'll never be him. The real Minato died, and he's never coming back," Aigis said. Minato looked into her eyes, and his heart broke at the sight. The way she was acting, the way she looked... it really did look like she was dead inside. Was she having some sort of existential crisis? Why now, of all places? Summer vacation was supposed to be fun!

"I loved him. Even though I was a machine, he found a way to love me back. We spent so much time together... it felt like a dream. You're not him. You'd never love me if you saw what I really was," Aigis said.

"What are you talking about!? Everything's been so crazy with you ever since I met you! Why are you so attached to me? I wanted to ask you that, but you would never respond. You would always get a somber look on your face and you wouldn't respond," Minato said.

"It's painful."

"What do you mean, painful!?"

"You would never understand. No one would," Aigis said.

"If you would give me the chance, I would try!" Minato shook her in his arms.

"Do you know how it feels to have the one that you love die right in your very arms because of something that you caused!? Would you be able to live on knowing that you fucking killed him!? Knowing deep down in your heart that you would never get him back!? That he told you that it was alright!? THAT HIS DYING WORDS WERE SPENT ON TELLING YOU THAT IT WAS ALRIGHT!?" she screamed.

"Aigis... just what are you talking about...?" Minato asked.

"I want to die. Without him, I'm nothing," Aigis said.

"Don't say that!" Minato said. "Please... just tell me what you're talking about so I can understand!" Tears were falling down his face. He didn't know why. Why was this girl's story making him tear up!? Why was he crying? He remembered telling himself a long time ago that crying was for wimps. Why was he doing it now?

"Don't cry," Aigis said. "Please... I can't stand seeing his face cry." She reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek. "You have such a beautiful smile... let me see it..."

"Aigis..." Minato barely let out a whisper.

"When I look into your eyes... I see his face. I see that peaceful face... smiling at me. Those tired eyes finally shutting... Just looking at you brings that pain back..." Aigis said. "So don't cry... I don't want to see that face cry... I want to see it smile..."

"Aigis... please... help me understand..." Minato said.

"I'm from the future. From a future where the thing that I prevented happened... and Minato died as a cause of it. He gave his life to protect everyone. To protect me. Everyone forgot about anything that related to the Dark Hour, except for me and him. He would talk to me every day after school... he would talk to me... but I saw through that smile that he always had on. He was dying. He was spending his last moments with me. On that day... March 5th, he looked into my eyes and told me... "Don't be sad Aigis. I have to go now. I'm glad that I spent the last minutes of my life with you. Aigis... always remember... I love you." He reached up to me... and cupped my face... but then after that, his hand fell, and his eyes shut. He died... and I cried. I cried, and I cried, and I cried. I didn't even know that a machine could cry as much as I did. I never got over the fact that Minato died... and I carried that with me for three years... and then one day... I was offered a second chance from Igor. And I took it without hesitation. Anything to give me another chance to see that boy that I loved so much smile. When I saw you stepping off that train... a fire lit inside of me. I just wanted to kiss you. We... only kissed once. I walked with you home... reliving every... little... detail of my life with him. The way that he smiled, the way that he talked, the way that he used to tease me and call me names..." Aigis started to tear up now, remembering all the fun that she had with Minato.

"Aigis, don't cry. I hate it when you cry... you don't deserve to cry..." Minato said.

"He said that to me whenever I cried," Aigis said. "Please... just go away, before my heart breaks even more than it already has. I'm surprised you managed to take that the way you did... I thought that you would think I was crazy."

"Believe it or not, it makes sense. I didn't know that attachment you had ran that deep..." Minato said. "But you have to cheer up. You want out of this, right? You want to go back to your time? Why don't you ask Igor? He could send you back..."

"It took the powers that I inherited from him to bring me back. It took the card of the Universe... and I don't have that anymore. I'm stuck here for all eternity, living here... a place where I don't belong," Aigis said.

Minato said nothing more, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Aigis... I'll do my best to be the man that future me was. I'll be by your side till the very end," he said. And that was all that she needed to hear.

"Minato!" she wailed. "No! I don't want you to mimic him! Be yourself! Be the Minato that you want to become, not the one that you could become!"

"Aigis, I don't care. I'll live a lie for you if that's what it takes to make you happy. Aigis... I... I love you," Minato said.

"I've wanted to hear that for so long..." Aigis said. "It hurts so much Minato... the heartache's still here... just thinking about him hurts..."

"You really did love him, huh?" Minato said, loosening his tight grip on her. He sat down next to her, and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"My parents... I used to have so much fun with them. Just the sight of them made me happy. They got along together so easily... and they were so happy when they had me and Minako. They would do everything that they could with us when they weren't working. It was a quiet, happy life... and then that monster came and killed them both. I guess... that was Death, wasn't it? I hate it for separating me from them. It crushed me even more when Minako blamed me for their deaths, even though I had no part in it. I guess she just wanted to feel better about it by putting the blame on someone, and that someone was me. I grew up in an orphanage with other kids who didn't care about me. I was all alone, with no one to love me. It hurts me inside when I think about them, and how happy my life was. When you told me that I should talk to my sister again, I got so scared, thinking that she still hated me. Why would she have any reason to like me? Me, the kid that everyone thought was weird, the kid that everyone was scared of because I was so silent? She was always the more social one. I chose to stay in the back and just... do whatever it was that I felt like doing at the time. Then I talked to her, and she said that she missed me. She actually cared about me. I know the pain that you feel deep down in your heart. And If I'm the only one that can mend it, then that's what I'm going to do. I won't let anyone share the same hurt that the two of us felt. No one deserves to go through that. I always felt funny when I was near you, Aigis. I felt some kind of familiarity with you, but I could never place it. I guess a part of the future me's inside of me. Or maybe it was the fact that we both felt that pain. I want nothing more than peace. These Shadows that we're fighting... they're threatening the peace that I want to protect. I want to find a way to get rid of the Dark Hour for good, and make sure that it never comes back. People like Ikutsuki... I hate them. They're monsters. Aigis... let me stay with you and protect you. I'll always be by your side, protecting you," Minato said.

"You're stealing my line..." Aigis whispered.

"Huh...?" Minato asked.

"I said that to him the day that he died. I told him that I would always be there to protect him, and look where that got me..." Aigis said. "Heheh... I'm such a mess... I don't even know what time it is... Just... sit with me, Minato... I'm holding you to that promise, too. I don't want to go back just yet," Aigis said.

"Sure thing, Ai-chan," Minato said. "Hey, can you tell me something? What was he like? What did he do with you?"

"He did lots of things," Aigis said. "I can tell you he was the best person that I had ever met. He was always there to pick me up when I was feeling down. During those last few months that he was alive, he would always tinker around with my parts and see what modifications he could make to me."

"Wait, back up. You said that you were a robot before right? So how are you a human now?" Minato asked.

"I don't know. I think that it was my inner desire to please you..." Aigis said.

"What do you mean plea-" Minato froze, realizing just what Aigis had just said. "Oh. Well, anyway, what do you mean by tinkering around with you? I took you apart and screwed around with your screws or something?"

"Oh, Minato-chan, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon's much more complicated than that!" Aigis laughed. "You were really smart. Whenever I had problems I just came to you and you would fix them for me."

"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon? What's that?" Minato asked. Aigis smiled at him, happy that he was interested in what she had to say. It felt like the old days to her. Maybe coming back here wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she would enjoy herself here... Maybe she could finally get over his death, with the help of the past Minato...

"That's what I was before I came to the past. They're meant for killing Shadows, as their names suggest. They use things called Plumes of Dusk that gives them the power to have emotions and use a Persona. That's how I got Athena for myself," Aigis said. "Although, without that Plume I woulda been emotionless. I like not having to worry about having that, though."

"I see," Minato nodded. "So, if you were a robot, were you like the Terminator?"

"That's the first thing that he asked me!" Aigis laughed. "I guess you could say I was... I had lots of guns and missiles, if that's the gist of your question."

"You had missiles!?" Minato yelled.

"Keep it down! Yeah, I had lots. Oh man, if you think that's bad you should see my sister unit Labrys! She's got an axe that's about three times the size of her body!"

"Labrys? Is she here? Can I meet her?" Minato asked.

"Well, she's not here. Truth is, I don't know where she is right now. Somewhere along the line we do meet her, though. Hey, wanna know what everyone was like in the future?" Aigis asked.

"Definitely. What was Yukari like?" Minato asked.

"Pink Argus," Aigis said.

"No way," Minato had to struggle to hold in his laughter.

"Yep! Akihiko ditched the shirt for a cape and started wandering the world, Mitsuru got into latex, Junpei became a little league coach, Fuuka... well, I'm really not sure what she went on to do. The rest is history!" Aigis said.

"What about Sho?" Minato asked.

"Well, he was actually a bad guy in my time! I was surprised to see him here with us, working together," Aigis said. "He was such a tough opponent... I'm kinda glad that he's on our side now."

"What about Minako?" Minato asked. "Last question, I swear."

"Well, I wouldn't know too much about her because you never talked about her," Aigis said.

"You know, I noticed that you're not saying him when referring to me of the future now," Minato said.

"I guess that's a sign that I'm moving on, then," Aigis said.

"That's good," Minato nodded. He looked up at the sky, marveling at the stars. "It's pretty beautiful out tonight."

"Yeah," Aigis nodded.

"Ya know that as soon as we go back you're gonna have to do a lot of explaining, right?" Minato asked.

"I know. Thanks for staying out with me, Minato. It really meant a lot to me, just to know that you worried about me..." Aigis said.

"Anything for you," Minato said. The two held hands as they walked back to the mansion, Aigis getting mentally prepared for what was next.

* * *

><p><strong>This is, by far, the longest chapter that I have ever written for this story. <strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, and most likely never will!**

_Chapter 16: A Really Long Explanation_

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><p>"You ready for this?" Minato asked as he and Aigis walked into the mansion.<p>

"As ready as I'll ever be," Aigis responded.

"Now or never, Ai-chan," Minato knocked on the door to the meeting room, where everyone had planned to meet since Takeharu had some things that he wanted to say to everyone. Mitsuru opened the door and invited them in. Minako eyed them as they walked in. They didn't even bother changing out of their swimsuits.

"Where were you guys?" Junpei asked. "First, Aigis disappeared, and then you did. We were all really worried..."

"Well, I found Aigis at a big tree in the forest, and she was on the ground crying. I asked her what was wrong, and then we spent the rest of our time there talking to one another about something. I'm sure Aigis can do this better than me, because I still really don't get it myself," Minato explained.

"To cut this short, I'm from the future," Aigis said. She waited for it to settle into everyone's minds. She was about to go on, but then a burst of laughter interrupted her.

"Oh man, nice story Ai-chan!" Junpei yelled, slapping his knees. Aigis let Junpei keep on laughing for a good minute or two, with everyone looking at him with expressions on their faces that just screamed "Can you please stop?"

"I'm actually serious, Junpei. I just wanted to give you all time to have that soak in. I came to the future due to... circumstances that I don't want to talk about right now... and I had found Minato immediately as he was coming off of the train on his way to the dorm," Aigis said.

"Now... I understand that you're serious about this, but what makes you think we believe you? For all we know, you could be crazy. I'm not saying that you are though. I'm just saying that it's a possibility," Akihiko said.

"I know. You probably all are thinking something along the lines of that, and I don't blame you for it. I don't have hard evidence, but there's things that I know that I really shouldn't know if I wasn't from the future. Like for instance, the fact that Ikutsuki was planning to trigger the Fall with Nyx," Aigis explained.

"That's right! I thought it was weird when you called him out on all of that, and by the way that he reacted, it was true all along... we were played like a damned fiddle right from the very beginning," Mitsuru swore.

"I guess that would explain why you're so close to Minato, too. We all thought that it was pretty creepy, the way that you were acting around him..." Yukari said.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I didn't want to tell you guys that I was from the future, because I didn't want you guys to shun me. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything sooner, because it would have helped a lot, wouldn't it?" asked Aigis, turning to face Takeharu, who was staring at her in return.

"Do I look familiar to you at all?" she asked.

"...No, I'm sorry. Should I know what you look like?" he asked.

"It's nothing... I'm sure that I can find out on my own," Aigis looked down at her hands. "Well, I guess that's my story. I came from the future to stop the bad thing that happened, Nyx getting released, from happening, and I stopped it."

"Is there anything else that we need to know that could put us in any danger, Aigis?" Akihiko asked.

"Yes. There's one thing. There's a group of three Persona users, Takaya Sakaki, Jin Shirato, and Chidori Yoshino. They call themselves Strega, and all throughout our journey they would try to stop us from getting rid of the Dark Hour," Aigis said.

"How did it stop for you, if it did at all? The Dark Hour, I mean," asked Minato.

"Well, it's funny. I don't really know how it stopped myself, but I think it had something to do with killing the entity that caused the Dark Hour to happen in the first place, which my Minato did," Aigis said.

"The entity that caused the Dark Hour?" Yukari asked. "What was that?"

"I'm sure that I could explain that to you," Takeharu interrupted. "I was thinking that you all already knew, but it seems that you don't. The Dark Hour wasn't just a natural occurrence over night. Something caused that to happen. The catalyst? An experiment that took place at the very school that you go to. An experiment that started the Dark Hour and gave birth to Tartarus, the tower that rises into the sky every night."

"What do you mean lab experiment?" Yukari asked.

"It was an experiment that was conducted by Mitsuru-senpai's grandfather ten years ago to use Shadows as an energy source. A bunch of the were piled up together and then eventually the power was too much for him to contain. It exploded, and when that explosion erupted, the Super Shadow that was made during that experiment split up into 12 parts, the Arcana Shadows that we've been seeing underneath the full moon. If we killed them all, then the seal on Death, that Super Shadow, would be weakened. As a result of the explosion, the Dark Hour came into existence and so did Tartarus," Aigis explained.

"You really are from the future after all," Takeharu said. "Because there is no way that you would have known that if you weren't. I suppose that Mitsuru informed you all of this in your time."

"Yes," Aigis nodded. "Yukari, your father tried to warn us all about it, but Ikutsuki doctored the video to make it sound like he wanted us all to kill the Arcana Shadows to get rid of the Dark Hour. It's the opposite. We can't kill them, or the whole world will be destroyed by Nyx."

"My father did that...? He tried to protect us all?" Yukari asked. "And... he died in that explosion ten years ago, I heard... I thought that it was just an ordinary lab experiment, but he was really just trying to save us all... I wish I could see him again..."

"He must have been a great man. I never had the chance to meet him," Takeharu said.

"I... All this time... he was protecting me..." Yukari smiled, a tear falling down her cheek.

"So, I think that we can all say that those Shadows are the cause of the Dark Hour. Is there any way to find just Death? Maybe if we defeat that Shadow it will stop the Dark Hour?" Akihiko said.

"No, that would be impossible. Death is sealed away inside someone," Aigis said.

"Who?" Sho asked.

"Minato," Aigis said. Minato didn't react like the others because he already heard that from Aigis before. But everyone else had gasped in surprise.

"Maybe... if we try to recreate the experiment, we can attempt to reverse the Dark Hour. I know that this goes against everything that we're working for, but I think that we have to collect the twelve Shadows that appear during the full moon and then bring them back here, so that we can recreate that experiment and see if that will reverse the effects of the one before it," Takeharu suggested.

"You know, since we don't have any ideas, that's a good place to start," Minato said.

Aigis looked towards the door and started to think to herself. If she wasn't there to seal Death in Minato, then that meant that the past her, the robot her, was still here somewhere. If that was the case, then tomorrow they would run into her, and some more explaining would have to be done.

"Kirijo-san, you don't happen to know who sealed Death into Minato-kun, do you?" Aigis asked.

"Ah... I remember that day like no other... We had sent a newly created Anti-Shadow Weapon who had awakened to her emotions much faster than the others out on her first mission. She had done the job, as we had picked up on the radar, but ever since that Anti-Shadow Weapon has ran away. We have no way to find her location, since she disabled everything that could help us find her. I think the fight with Death damaged her severely..." Takeharu said.

'So then that means that it wasn't me, and that I overwrote my past self... that could only mean that someone else had done it. One that had awakened her emotions much faster than the others...? I know who that was! Do you mean to tell me that Labrys was the one who sealed Death into Minato this time!?' Aigis thought. It seemed crazy, but it had to be true.

"This is all so surreal... I never thought that anything like this would happen," Minako stated. "A girl from the future... crazy lab experiments... Personas..."

"Well, someone once told me that obtaining a Persona was like losing your innocence. You see the world in a different way. The more you fight, the more that you accept your fate," Aigis said.

"Who told you that?" Yukari asked. "Because that's pretty accurate."

"Why, you Yukari!" Aigis smiled. "Although, you would say that to Minato while you were standing on the beach during the night, doubting your beliefs about your father. You told that to him, but I overheard you guys too, because I was watching Minato at the time."

"Hey, what do I become when I get older?" Yukari wondered aloud.

"Well, I think that those kinds of questions are best left unanswered and you find out yourself, Pink Argus," Aigis said. Minato started giggling, using his hand to stifle laughter.

"You're right... I can't ask you everything now can I?" Yukari smiled. "Well, let's have some fun tomorrow, alright? We deserve it!"

"You guys... don't think of me differently?" Aigis asked.

"Why would we? It's not like you're a completely different person. Now we know your backstory. It's fine if you're someone from the future or something like that, you're still our Aigis," said Akihiko.

"Thanks, guys... that means a lot to me," Aigis smiled. "I hope that we can continue being SEES, and fight to the very end with one another! We're gonna get rid of the Dark Hour if it's the last thing that I do!"

"That's the right attitude to have, Ai-chan!" Junpei jumped out of his seat and threw a fist into the air. Soon enough, everyone followed his lead. Even the Kirijos!

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><p>The next day Aigis sat outside with Minato, who was putting some sunscreen on her back. She decided she'd just sunbathe for the day and watch the others go into the ocean. Junpei, Sho, and Akihiko walked up to Minato with smiles on their faces.<p>

"Hey Minato, we're gonna go out... hunting. You wanna come with?" Sho asked.

"Better not do it... or else..." Aigis muttered dangerously. Minato felt every ounce of the deadly tone in her voice looked at the others.

"Sorry, looks like I'm booked," Minato said. "Although, that's not such a bad thing, right? I mean, I've already got a girlfriend."

"Yeah yeah. Well, we'll tell ya if we've been successful or not!" Sho yelled, running off along with Junpei and Akihiko following behind him.

"They're not," Aigis said, turning her head to face Minato. He lied down next to her on the same towel and grabbed her hand, looking out to sea.

"Did I do this with you a lot?" Minato asked, looking at the nostalgic smile on her face. She seemed like she was in total bliss. He couldn't blame her, after hearing what she had to say the night before. From the looks of things, just being here with her was enough to make Aigis happy.

He looked into the forest, where the girls had gone off to for the day for some sight seeing before they spent their last day here, before having to go home. A lot of things happened last night and he was sure that everything would be different from now on. Most of all with him and Aigis.

"Yeah," Aigis said breathlessly. "You know, today was the day that I met you. I'll never forget it. You went along with them, and found me standing at the docks of the beach where we came from. I was looking for you, wondering where you were because I needed to protect you from the monster that was dwelling inside of you, Death. When I found you, I had to know that it was you, so I ran away. I knew that you would follow me no matter what happened. You just weren't the type of person to leave a girl crying. And you didn't know that I was a robot at the time until I said to you that I was. I was that convincing. But if you took one look at my body without any disguises on, you would know first thing. Anyway, we met at the tree that I talked to you at, and I had went home with you. From there, the rest is history. You helped me gain my emotions, Minato-kun. And for that, I don't have enough thanks."

The two sat in silence with one another for some more time before they fell asleep. As soon as they shut their eyes, however, they snapped open again after hearing screaming coming from the distance.

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FUCKIN FREAK!" Sho was running towards them with Junpei and Akihiko behind him. A girl was running towards them with her hand reaching out for them.

"Come on babies! You know you want to!"

"You're goddamned right I DON'T!" Sho countered, trying to grab for katanas that weren't even there.

"TOLD YOU!" Aigis yelled with a cocky smirk on her face. Minato started to laugh at their misery, finding the situation utterly hilarious. But then he felt a little bit of remorse for the him of the future, considering he had to go through that too. Oh well, at least he didn't have to experience it himself. The girls eventually came back from the forest trip that they were on, wondering what all the noise as about. They too started laughing at Sho running around the beach with a girl following him.

Eventually the person gave up and Sho was finally free. Afterwards, they all walked inside the mansion to get ready for their last day at the beach. Aigis smiled to herself as she walked in. Things really weren't so bad for her after all...


	17. Chapter 17

**I just wanted to take some time to tell you all that I love your support!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 17: Back to Work  
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><p>Junpei walked through the strip mall of Iwatodai with a bored look on his face. It was summer vacation and he still managed to get as bored as ever. How was that even possible? Just a few days ago he was graced with five beautiful bodies surrounding him in the water, and now he was all alone with nothing to do.<p>

"Man I wanna go back to the beach again," Junpei sighed as he walked down the stairs. He looked toward the fountain that was there and saw a girl sitting there. He noticed her immediately because of her outlandish clothing. She looked like she would belong in that time period that Junpei had just finished reading about in his history class. He forgot it's name, though...

Hey, a girl was a girl, so he decided to go and speak to her and see what she was doing. She looked like she was awfully focused on something in her hands.

"Hey, what's up?" Junpei asked, sitting down next to her. She turned her head to reveal a somewhat depressed looking face. Was there something wrong with her?

"Who are you?" the girl asked him. Junpei smirked in response.

"I'm Junpei Iori, Ace Detective!" he puffed out his chest, a gesture that made the girl laugh a little bit. He was glad that she was smiling. He couldn't stand it when people were really sad.

"Are you really a detective?" the girl asked, playing with a loose strand of her red hair. She looked down at what was in her hands, a sketchbook. She was working on a picture that made absolutely no sense to Junpei. Then again, no artist made sense to Junpei.

"Well, not really. I was just saying that because I like to call myself that," Junpei said.

"Oh. I see. I like to call myself things that I'm really not too," the girl said. "My name is Chidori."

Junpei could swear that he heard that name before, and from Aigis's mouth too. But what was she saying about someone named Chidori? Junpei honestly forgot, opting to just blank out during that entire conversation. Sure, he was there for the initial shock that she was from the future, but other than that, he had just managed to stare out into space the entire rest of the conversation.

"What are you drawing there, Chidori?" asked Junpei, pointing to the sketchpad.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a drawing of something that I see every night. I like the look of it, and I try to improve it in every way that I can before I move on to my next drawing. Would you like to see it?" Chidori offered, handing the sketchbook to Junpei.

Junpei gasped when he saw what was on the page she was drawing on. A tower-like structure with multiple things hanging out of it, almost like attachments to the main tower. It was colored in with a sickly green glow around it, and there were multiple spots of red coloration on the page, which, from Junpei knowing full and well what was on the paper, was blood.

"Do you like it? I used my own blood to give it that authentic feel," said Chidori. Junpei shuddered and handed the book back to her. He decided that it wasn't the best thing to make a comment about both her comment and the fact that the girl drew Tartarus on her sketchpad. She used actual blood on the paper for the pools of blood that were outside the gates? What kind of person is this?

"That's a really nice painting, Chidori. It looks pretty neat. Well, I gotta go, so see ya tomorrow maybe," Junpei said, getting up and waving goodbye. He walked as fast as he could to make it seem like he wasn't running away and got home.

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><p>Aigis sat in the lounge along with Minazuki. Sometimes the two of them just found themselves sitting with one another, even though their schedules were completely different from each other.<p>

Junpei came walking in with a worried expression on his face. He turned right to Aigis and sat down next to her.

"Aigis, I met a girl today named Chidori. You were talking about someone with that name, right?" Junpei asked. Aigis fell silent, and let out a long sigh.

"That girl is part of Strega. I wouldn't stay near her," Aigis warned.

"Those guys are our enemies, right?" Junpei asked. "Damn, and she was really cute too! Aside from the fact that she was part of our enemy team... I think it was love at first sight!"

"You're insane!" yelled Yukari from upstairs. She came stomping down the stairs and didn't stop until she was in Junpei's face. "You can't just fall in love with someone the first time you see them! It's impossible! It's not real! You've gotta be insane to think that something as stupid as love at first sight's real!"

"What's the matter with her?" Minazuki whispered in Aigis's ear.

"Beat's me," Aigis said.

"Jeez, sorry for having beliefs Yuka-tan..." Junpei rubbed the back of his head. Yukari "hmph"ed in response and walked out the door. Junpei shrugged and walked upstairs into his room.

"Palpable," Minazuki stated.

"Agreed," Aigis said.

"What are we talking about?" Mitsuru asked from the counter. She was checking on some documents that were stored underneath of it to see if there was anything that they had on the Dark Hour that they could use for help. She looked up from over the counter after hearing their comments and the small argument that Junpei and Yukari had.

"The sexual tension between the two," said Aigis. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Oh, that? Well, I've known that for a long time. I've been experiencing it myself lately," Mitsuru said.

"Ooh, is the Kirijo opening up to us?" Minazuki taunted, turning around and staring at Mitsuru, who only shot him an annoyed glare in response.

"Mitsuru-senpai, is there something you're not telling us about you and Akihiko-senpai?" Aigis asked, smiling at her knowingly.

"No, there's nothing going on between us! If you don't shut up... I-I'll execute you!" Mitsuru's face went as red as her own hair as she stormed upstairs.

"You know if I stayed just a bit longer in the future they would have been together," Aigis noted. "Towards the end and everything, it seemed like everyone was getting together with everyone."

"I see. Knowing that you're from the future can't help but make me wonder... what became of me?" Minazuki asked.

"Well, you were the last person that we had to fight. My time was a time where Ikutsuki got his way, but we stopped him in the end. Then you came along when we thought that everything was well and good, and you started up right where Ikutsuki left off. You said that you weren't going to be like him, but in essence, you were," Aigis explained.

"I see..." Minazuki looked down at his feet. Aigis smiled at the boy and put her hand on his shoulders.

"It bothers you doesn't it?" Aigis asked.

"I can't say that it doesn't," Minazuki said. "Out of the two months that I have spent with all of you, I can't help but feel a certain warmth towards the members of SEES here... and with you telling me that I was a villain trying to kill you in the time that you came from, it concerns me. Was I really that overcome with hatred that I resorted to doing something like that? To try and destroy the world like Ikutsuki did? I know that Sho thinks it's the right thing to do, but I can't help but feel that if I kill Ikutsuki, that won't make me any better than him. That's why I didn't make a move on him back at Yakushima. I would have went over there to kill him, but I decided that the best revenge that I can dish out to him is the fact that I helped _save_ the world, not _destroy_ it."

"Minazuki..."

"I've made my decision. I'm going to fight to protect this world. I'm going to end this Dark Hour. I'll stay here and be both your sword and your shield. As soon as you get yourself a sword, come to me and I will personally train you," Minazuki said, looking straight into Aigis's eyes. "I care for you like a sibling, and I will not allow any harm to befall you."

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><p>A pale green glow lit the streets of the city, illuminating the way for a Takaya. He walked through the city, looking for a way to Tartarus. With his new liberation from Ikutsuki's orders and whatnot, he decided that he would live life to his fullest, and he liked to live dangerously. Countless nights were spent fighting the Shadows until he dropped to the floor, unconscious.<p>

What else was there for him to do? It wasn't like he was welcome in this world anyway. It had shunned him, throwing him and his two companions to the side while they watched the people with _normal_ lives go about their way. They didn't understand the constant pain that Strega went through. Takaya had to make sure that he took his pills every day so that he didn't die from the strain that his Persona put on him.

He hated living like this. This was no way to live someone's life, and he was sick and tired of it. If only he had the power to change everything... if only he had the power to stop the pain from flowing through him. He thought of the Dark Hour as a way to ease that pain, knowing that he was _special_, and that he was someone important because of it. He wouldn't let the Dark Hour end, not on his watch.

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><p>"Thanks again for taking me out here, Aigis," Junpei said.<p>

"No problem! I didn't really have anything to do either, so I decided let's be bored together," Aigis said. The two were sitting down in Hagakure Ramen, devouring bowls of ramen. Junpei was amazed at just how much Aigis could eat. It was like she had a black hole for a stomach. Even more amazing was the fact that she was pretty skinny, too.

"How do you do it?" asked Junpei, staring at the girl as she basically sucked up most of the ramen in the bowl.

"What?" Aigis asked, putting down the bowl and getting ready to order another one. So far she's finished about four, and Junpei was still on his first.

"Eat all that and still manage to look beautiful?" Junpei asked.

"I'm taken, you know," Aigis remarked, grabbing the fifth bowl for that night and thanking the person behind the counter who had an equally frightened look on his face.

"She's gonna eat me out of this place..." he muttered, walking into the back.

"Well, never mind, then..." Junpei sighed, continuing to eat. "So, what's Strega like?"

"Strega? That's easy. Their leader is a nihilist. He thinks that the best way to live is to "live in the moment" only, and disregard everything else in life. He's got pale, almost white skin, with hair equally as pale to match. He wears no shirt, but has a tattoo on his arm. I think he's got two. Been a while since I've seen him and it's getting hard to remember certain things now," Aigis said.

"Why?" Junpei asked.

"Because I used to be a robot, and I stored all of what you would call "memory" on my hard drive. Really, it was just video that I was constantly capturing while I was online. My eyes used to be cameras instead of actual eyes, you know," Aigis said.

"What other things did you have?" asked Junpei, pushing his bowl to the side, and to his surprise, so did Aigis.

"Well, just the basics, really. Uh... motherboard, hard drive, minigun... rail gun..." Aigis counted off using her fingers. Junpei stared at her with his mouth almost hitting the floor.

"Shut your mouth, Junpei. It attracts flies, as they say," Aigis said.

"I think you mean... oh, I give up..." Junpei shook his head and got up. "Well, it's getting kinda dark, so let's head on home."

On their way out of the shop, they saw a man wobbling back and forth in the far end of the strip mall. Junpei stared at the man intensely, and he could tell that he was drunk in a second. How could he not know, being around a drunkard for most of his life?

Aigis noticed the look of disgust that appeared on Junpei's face and got a little concerned. Did Junpei know this man?

"C'mon Aigis, let's get outta here before that guy comes our way," Junpei said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her away, muttering "I hate assholes like that..."

"Junpei-kun...?" Aigis asked, confused as to why he was acting like that. Maybe she should ask him sometime later on when he's cooled down...

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><p>Minato turned the TV's power off and sat back in his chair. There was nothing good on besides the news, and he wasn't about to go and watch the news. He'd seen enough about Apathy Syndrome to be considered an expert on it. It wasn't like it was uncommon with him anyway. There were different students that were sitting around random locations in Iwatodai, and they all acted emotionless, like they had lost all feeling in their lives and will to go on.<p>

"Minato-kun, is everything alright? Lately you've been looking kind of down..." Fuuka spoke up, looking up from the laptop that she had on her lap. Minato turned to her and gave her a fake smile, the least that he could do to tell her that there was nothing to worry about.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just a little bit tired I guess," responded Minato.

"Really? Because sometimes you don't look tired. You look depressed," Fuuka noted, tapping away at her keyboard while looking at him. The girl had skill, he had to give her that. He considered himself good with electronics, but Fuuka outclassed him by far. He suspected that Aigis might be good with that kind of stuff too, seeing as though she had revealed that she used to be a robot to him.

"I'm that easy to read, huh?" Minato asked, throwing the remote onto the table. It landed perfectly next to the newspaper, which had an article about recent Apathy Syndrome attacks. Something else that Minato didn't care about. Akihiko was more inclined to read those things, however. He always seemed to be interested in Apathy Syndrome. Minato never wondered why, nor did he care. He guessed someone had to keep track of it, and Akihiko chose himself to be the guy for that.

"It's all in your body language," stated Fuuka. "So what is it that's bothering you? You can tell me, you know... I'm your friend too."

"I know that you're my friend Fuuka. I never doubted that for a second. But you got me. I guess you could say that I'm over thinking something. Aigis said that sealing Nyx away was what caused the Dark Hour to end in her time, but if that happens, I die. But what other choice is there? I mean, we've already missed the mark and all, but is there any other way to get rid of the Dark Hour? Mitsuru-senpai wants us to go up Tartarus and see if it has any clues, but what kind of clues would we be looking for? Her father wants to try to reverse the effects of the experiment that caused the Dark Hour by doing that very same experiment, thinking that the Dark Hour would be negated. Where does it all lead to, Fuuka? If you think about it, it's hopeless," Minato said.

"Don't say that," said Fuuka in a tone that Minato never heard come out of her mouth before. Anger. Was she angry at him? "If you say that, then you're doing nothing more and better than giving up. You can't give up in a situation like this. It's just not going to work. There _is_ a way to get rid of the Dark Hour! There has to be! You can just say that it's hopeless... look at everyone here, fighting for what they believe in! I guess that deep down in their hearts they're starting to give up too, but you can't let them do that. What would Aigis say about all that?"

"She'd probably say... that's not the Minato I know. The Minato I know would stand up and fight no matter what," Minato said. "But she had to realize... I'm not that Minato. I'm not that hero from the future that she loves so dearly. It pains me to say it, but I'll never be like him no matter how hard I try."

"That's still giving up, Minato. The Minato of the future must have been scared out of his mind, going up against something like this, and something like Nyx, if what Aigis says about her is true. He must have wanted to run away and never come back, but he stood up for everyone because something that comes from deep down inside. His courage. His will to protect his friends. Don't you believe in the same thing, Minato?" asked Fuuka.

Minato didn't respond, opting to exhale rather loudly, sitting even further back into his chair, sliding down so that only his head was touching the pillow.

"We're not just your comrades, Arisato," Mitsuru said as she walked down the stairs. She had overheard the conversation and thought that it was time for her to step into it. "We're your friends, right? We can be there for you to pick you up as many times as you fall down. We don't mind having to do that. You don't need to worry about putting an unnecessary burden on your shoulders, because we're here for you. I admit that I'm scared about whether or not the Dark Hour will end, but that's no reason to just drop everything and stop fighting. I know that I wouldn't think of you the same anymore. So chin up, and sit up straight. We'll shoulder the burden. We can help Arisato, you just have to let us in."

"Yeah. We're here for you!" Fuuka added.

Minato stared at the red head, not knowing what to say. He didn't think that everyone counted on him like this... and to think that he was just a sixteen year old boy who wanted a normal life... it looked like Yukari was right when she said that gaining a Persona was like loosing your innocence. Nothing will ever be the same for you.

If these guys all are here to support him, then he would do the very best that he could to not let them down. He'd fight to the finish, and he'd be damned sure to make everyone proud of him. He'd be brave like his future self. Minato found it to be funny. He could honestly say that he looked up to the guy, and it was even more funny that the person that he looked up to was himself, albeit from the future.

"Alright then... I guess there's no way outta this. I'll do it. I'll fight with you guys until the very end. Tomorrow, exploration of Tartarus starts. We'll start there and see if we can find any clues as to what's going on," Minato said.

"That's more like it," Mitsuru smiled. "I'll hold you to that."

"Right," Minato nodded.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, as always.**

_Chapter 18: Strega Appears  
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><p>"Funny how the day that we're supposed to go to Tartarus is the day of the full moon," Minato commented, walking down the street towards Tartarus. Aigis had to agree with him on that one. While it was purely a coincidence, she didn't like the looks of things. Today was the day that they had fought with that large tank only to find that it was two Shadows in one in her timeline, but that wasn't what was important right now. What was important was on that same day, Strega appeared before them to tell them that they would not stand for them fighting to get rid of the Dark Hour.<p>

"You look a little bit on edge. You okay?" Sho asked the girl, running up to her and tapping on her shoulder. Aigis turned to the read head and smiled at him.

"Everything's fine, Sho-kun. I'm just a little bit worried about tonight is all," responded Aigis.

"Well, don't be. You got me and everyone else here along with you, and I don't think any one of us will let anything happen to each other," Sho said. "Oh yeah, how's that sword I got you? Everything alright?" he added, looking down at her hands to find that a sword was in them.

"I haven't really tried it out yet, I was hoping to today. Thank you for getting this for me. Where did you even get this made anyway?" asked Aigis. It looked like it was made with expertise unlike any other.

"Ain't gonna lie, I scoped out Tartarus a little bit before last night and found that lying around there. Thought you might want it or something," Sho said.

"Thank you," Aigis bowed. She turned towards the tower, facing it as it rose high up into the sky. She supposed that it was time to go and explore it for real this time. She just hoped that _it_ wouldn't find them tonight, along with Strega.

There was always that fear of running into _that_ thing when she went into Tartarus. She had witnessed what it could do first hand, and it was quite disturbing. Its power was unlike that of any other Shadow's. To her, it felt like it was some kind of lingering spirit of someone who wished for nothing more but death to the world. It was dressed in a bloody coat, with a sack covering its entire face save for one small opening where an eye bulged out of it.

In front of the gates of Tartarus, the members of SEES found three teenagers standing there. Junpei paled at the sight of one of them, instantly recognizing her as the girl that he saw at the station that one day. Aigis swore mentally, knowing that _not_ running into them would have been too good to be true.

"Strega," Aigis whispered, staring at the three. Takaya, Jin, and Chidori were standing at the gates, in front of the doors to the tower. They turned around and smiled as SEES walked up to them.

"Ah, so you know about us? Interesting, because we know about you as well. We know about what you want, and how you are going to go about doing it," the pale man spoke, turning around to face them. "You are SEES, no?"

"How do you know about us?" asked Mitsuru.

"It's no surprise, really, since we've been informed by Ikutsuki, before he was captured," Jin said, pushing up his glasses.

"Ikutsuki?" asked Akihiko incredulously.

"Yes, Ikutsuki. He was the one that told us about you. He told us that if we faced you head on in the heat of battle, it would will you to stop the Dark Hour even more. it was all part of his mater plan. He wanted to destroy all twelve Arcana Shadows to call Nyx down upon this world, and we were his tools, since he had no use of a Persona," Takaya explained.

"That's right, he said that he was trained to enter the Dark Hour... maybe it was to make contact with these creeps," Sho said.

"Would you like to know what happened to us?" Jin asked. "I'm sure you do. We're not _natural_ Persona users. We were artificially implanted with the potential to own a Persona. However, our Personas constantly revolt against us, trying to kill us, even! This is what you Kirijos did to us!"

"The Kirijos had no part of that! It was Ikutsuki's doing, not ours!" yelled Mitsuru angrily, taking a step forward. Takaya pulled his revolver from his jeans and pointed it at Mitsuru, the gun making a _click _sound. Mitsuru froze in her tracks.

"Ah, so you don't know do you? Well, before the incident with the Dark Hour ever occurred, the Kirijos were taking up orphans from the very streets of this city and they were experimenting on them. After all, who would miss them anyway? They have no one to love, no one to care for them... They wanted to see if they were able to artificially implant a Persona into someone using the same technology that they used on their infamous Anti-Shadow Weapons. They thought... 'If we're able to put a Persona into a mere machine, can we do it to a human, too?'. It was a disgusting way of thinking, but in the end they went through with it, and we were born unto the world as Persona users. Sho Minazuki, you can attest to this, no? Were you not artificially given a Persona? Don't you despise the Kirijos? There's one right there... you can kill her if you like. If not, then I can do the favor," Takaya said.

"While it may be true that I was given something that I never asked for..." Sho began.

"It doesn't mean that I blame the Kirijos for it," Minazuki finished. "I, however, blame the man that did this to me. Shuji Ikutsuki."

"You're a fool, Sho..." Takaya said. He took aim at Mitsuru, and squeezed the trigger. A deafening gunshot resounded through the area, everyone shutting their eyes. Mitsuru nearly jumped, knowing full well that the gun was pointed at her and that she was going to die.

"What!?" Takaya yelled upon looking down to see if he hit Mitsuru.

Athena was in front of Mitsuru, holding up her shield. The bullet had hit the shield, and fell to the floor harmlessly. Aigis stood to the side of her Persona with both of her guns drawn, aimed at Takaya.

"If you want a gun fight, why don't you pick on someone who knows how to use them?" she asked, opening fire on the pale man. Takaya jumped out of the way of Aigis's line of fire, and kept on running as Aigis turned around to face him, shooting one gun at a time, from right to left to right again.

"She's good... precision like that... only a robot could have it," Jin noted, biting off the pin of the grenade that he was tossing up and down in his hand and throwing it down to the members of SEES. They all split up and Aigis put her guns away and changed it for the sword that Sho got her. She had no idea how to use it, but she would use it anyway in fear of hitting one of her teammates with a bullet.

Penthesilea appeared in front of Chidori, who was about to throw one of the hatchets that she kept in her sleeves at Akihiko. The Persona used ice to knock her away and into the wall of Tartarus. The grenade that was right behind the members of SEES exploded right after that. Everyone ducked down out of forced habit and were caught by surprise by Takaya's Persona, Hypnos, who punched Aigis in the stomach. She doubled over, and the Persona folded his hands together and rose them above Aigis's head. Minato came to her rescue, slashing Hypnos across the chest, causing both the Persona and Takaya to stagger. Aigis got up and rubbed her stomach in unfamiliar pain. She wasn't quite used to _feeling_ things like that yet, even if she was in a human body for a long time now.

"Why don't you see that this fighting is pointless? All that we wish is for the Dark Hour to remain," Takaya said. "Because without it, our powers will be gone, and we'll just return to being outcasts again! All of us here, we're special! The Dark Hour is a realm only for us to explore... why can't you understand?"

"Because the Dark Hour kills people! Sure, it's not instantaneous, but people like you... the Shadows... you kill innocent people only on the notion that you're special, and that they deserve it for throwing you away. That's no way to think. It's sad, miserable, and most of all, irritating," Minazuki said, using Tsukuyomi to send a wave of red towards Jin, who put his arms up in defense only to be hit by it anyway, sending him backwards.

Akihiko rushed towards Takaya, preparing to barrage him with his fists. He dodged out of the way of Takaya's gun as soon as he saw him reaching for it. Akihiko ducked and then started letting punches fly, hitting Takaya in multiple spots including the chest and stomach. Aigis jumped behind Takaya and swept him off of his feet after Akihiko was done. She rose her foot to slam it down on his chest, but he rolled out of the way, leaving Aigis's foot to slam down on the ground hard, sending pain shooting up her spine.

Takaya smirked as he punched Aigis in the face and prepared to do the same thing to her, only to have a ball of fire hit his back. He turned around in anger, looking at Junpei, who was sending even more fireballs at him. Hypnos appeared before Takaya and knocked every one of them away from his owner. Junpei stared at the man with wide eyes before getting out of the way of Takaya trying to hit him with the grip of his gun.

Chidori got up only to be viciously attacked by Minazuki, sending multiple blasts of black flames her way. She couldn't protect herself in time with her Persona, and took the full brunt of the attack, effectively knocking her out. Jin was next on Minazuki's list, opting to send another red energy wave his way. Jin knew what was coming this time, and jumped out of the way before it could hit him. Minazuki was expecting this however, and Tsukuyomi grabbed him and disappeared along with the red head. He later reappeared behind Jin and slashed him down his back, giving him a nasty gash. Jin didn't even bother to get up at that point, knowing full and well that he was defeated.

"This fight's too easy..." Minato noted, not liking how things were playing out in the slightest. They were winning, and that was good, but they were also winning too easily. It could have very well been the fact that they outnumbered them and had almost triple what they were fighting with, but then again, if Takaya can keep up with someone as nimble as Aigis, then something was wrong. Minato's eyes widened as he realized what Takaya was doing.

The man put his gun away and smirked knowingly. "Well then. I'm not disappointed by your abilities. However, I was merely testing you all out. There's no way that I would really be able to lose to all of you. When we next meet, you'll regret ever facing us..." With some unknown power, most probably from his Persona, Jin and Chidori were taken up and disappeared along with Takaya, leaving a very confused SEES in its place.

"He was holding back on us the entire time? He wasn't even fazed by what we were doing to him?" Akihiko asked.

"It seems like it," Aigis said.

"What a nasty thing to do..." Minako said. "I didn't even get to do anything either..."

"Holding back... I wonder what his true strength his. None of them were fighting their best. They all had smiles on their faces, did you see?" Minazuki asked.

"I did notice that... it was like they were just scoping us out..." Junpei said.

"Whatever... the Dark Hour's almost done. They were just stalling for time. Whatever's inside of that tower... they don't want us to see it," Minato said. "So that means that we're gonna have to be tenacious with this."

"They never attacked us in my time. All that they did was encourage us to go and fight the Shadows that were underground, and the ran off. I guess this time they wanted to test us... bastard... I'll get him," Aigis said. "Mere machine... I'll make him eat those words. I'm not just a mere machine anymore..."

"Aigis... are you alright?" Minato asked, noticing how angry Aigis was getting.

"Mere machine this, mere machine that! That's all I ever was! I hate it! I hated being a robot! After all, what's a robot good for if it can't even do what it's ordered to do!?" Aigis yelled.

"Aigis... everything's okay now. You're not a machine anymore. You're a human..." Akihiko said. "And if you felt that strongly about Minato in your time, then there's no way you could have been just a mere machine there too."

"You don't have to fret over what happened in the future. You're in the past now, and things are going quite differently from what I've heard about it. Start worrying about what's going on now, if anything. You worry too much for your own good," Minazuki said.

"We should return to the dorm for now," Mitsuru said.

* * *

><p>Deep in the cell that he was being kept in, Ikutsuki scratched at his head. He didn't know what to do. He was so bored here... but he should have expected that being in a borderline jail cell would be like that. Nothing had happened to him for more than a month. He needed to get out, to be set free... but they just wouldn't let him. Not until he told them what they needed to know.<p>

He wished that he had the power to break free from these iron bars desperately. He wished that he would have stayed calm all throughout the time that wretched bitch interrogated him.

The door opened, and Ikutsuki turned his head to see who walked in.

"What now? Here to torture me some more?" Ikutsuki asked. "Go ahead. I welcome it. Maybe you'll kill me by accident."

"You are Shuji Ikutsuki, yes? I wish to speak with you," The man said in a near monotone voice. Ikutsuki couldn't see too well in the dark, but he could _feel_ the atmosphere shift.

"Who are you? I know that you're not someone... normal..." Ikutsuki said.

"You are a good observer, then," the man said. "My name is of no importance. Comply with me, and you will get out of here. Besides, what do you have to lose? I've noticed that you wanted to destroy this world. Well, I can help you do just that."

"I'll ask again. Who are you?" Ikutsuki asked, standing up.

"I'll reiterate. My name is of no importance. I can open the way to the destruction of this world. Do you wish to escape from here?"

"How are you going to do that?" Ikutsuki asked, the light of the moon shining down on the man's face to reveal his stout figure. The man grabbed the iron bars and _pulled_, actually _separating_ them. Ikutsuki stared at the man in awe. This was no ordinary human being. He was dealing with something much more complicated than that.

"Do you accept?" the man asked once again.

"...Yes. It's not like I have much of a choice," Ikutsuki said.

"Good. We shall get started soon," the man replied, grabbing Ikutsuki and walking out of the room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona...**

_Chapter 19: Summer's End  
><em>

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><p>"I'm a little bit angry with you," Ikutsuki said. "However, who knew that a world like this even existed?"<p>

"What are you mad about?" the very same man that took him from the cell that he was locked up in asked. "And yes, you never dreamed of stepping inside of an actual, real life television, did you?"

"I'm mad about the fact that you said that you were going to help me destroy this world, and we've done nothing of the sort to progress our plans even further," Ikutsuki responded, taking a short walk around the town that was constructed for him when he entered. The man told him that this world inside of the TV conjured areas up that matched the heart of the person that was stepping inside.

"Ikutsuki, things like this take time. Besides, we won't be able to move out until much later on, anyway, when we can finally get the show on the road," the man said.

"Yeah, well how much time are we talking?" Ikutsuki asked. "I am not a patient man."

"I would say around the end of January we will be ready. However, you must have patience if you wish to destroy the world and all that inhabit it," the man said. "We must prepare ourselves diligently."

"Fine, then," Ikutsuki said.

* * *

><p>Summer passed by without much of a bang. Nothing special really happened during the break other than the members of SEES going out to explore Tartarus for a few days during the week and then returning. Now that it was summer, they could do pretty much anything that they wanted to do that pertained to their work as SEES, as they didn't have to worry about school.<p>

Mitsuru had signed everyone up for a class at the tail end of break to study even harder than they were usually doing, much to Junpei and Sho's dismay. Minazuki thought that it was something that Sho needed considering his grades were lacking. Sho countered with "What are you, my mother?", making Minazuki effectively be quiet inside of his mind.

Minato and Aigis went out on countless dates, and things were looking up to the couple. If Minako could describe the two in once sentence, she would say "They bicker like an old married couple."

More often than not Aigis and Minato would argue about one thing, and then the very next second after either Minato or Aigis deals the finishing blow to the argument, they would be lovey dovey again and be making out on the couch, something that they did very often. Yukari rolled her eyes, not being able to help feeling at least a little bit jealous of the blonde. She had such a cute boyfriend... and she was pretty much speeding along the bases with him, too!

Minazuki and Sho both remained... well, they remained Minazuki and Sho. The two weren't the best people to get to know, but when you got to know them, they could be the best of friends to you. Fuuka had to admit that it was at first very odd to think of Minazuki as just a second personality to Sho because the two were so different. She at first thought of them as twins that liked to swap places with one another!

Junpei was really sad over the fact that the only girl that he found that he was attracted to was an insane psychopath with a hatchet and penchant for drawing blood pictures and to put the cherry on top, a member of Strega itself, the rival team of SEES that wished for nothing more than to destroy them and what they were doing.

Akihiko and Mitsuru were starting to talk more about general stuff, and less about the Shadows and the Dark Hour and Apathy Syndrome, something that they talked about nearly daily. Aigis had smirked quite a few times as she walked past them, knowing full well what was going to happen in the next few months. It was the same thing to happen to Minato in her timeline. Aigis bugged him so much that he fell in love with her, and he told her that there wasn't a day in his life that he regretted meeting her, even though he at first thought of her at a nuisance.

Yukari was constantly shopping, buying new clothes for everyone at SEES. She liked to think of herself as the team fashion specialist. Aigis had suggested that she try wearing a Pink Argus costume, but Yukari didn't know why. Whenever she turned her back on the blonde, though, she would hear her turning to face Minato and the both of them started to giggle like idiots. Was it some kind of in-joke? She'd probably never know. But knowing Aigis and how she was from the future, she could only tell what she was going to end up doing, and she would probably be doing it whether she liked it or not.

"Mind as well start now while I'm at it..." Yukari groaned as she walked into her room.

Mitsuru was wrapped in a towel, walking into her room. She had the phone in her hands, too. Her father was calling her to check up on some things. Or, that's what she thought.

"Mitsuru, I have some troubling news for you. I don't want you to overreact to this, since I have a team out searching for him, but last night, Ikutsuki somehow escaped from his cell," Takeharu said. Mitsuru let out a shocked gasp, but her father was expecting that. "Like I said, don't worry too much about it. Ikutsuki won't be getting anywhere. And Mitsuru... if you could please keep this a secret... I would be happy. I don't want their spirits to fall now. Not when we're close to getting rid of the Dark Hour."

"I understand... but... how did he escape?" Mitsuru asked.

"When I went to go and check up on him, the bars in his cell were bent, allowing him space to squeeze by and get out," Takeharu said. "We don't know who or what did it, but someone let Ikutsuki out, that had to be it. Like I said, you don't need to worry. I've sent out highly trained Persona users after him."

"Okay. Thank you for letting me know, father," Mitsuru said. The two continued to talk about little things, such as Mitsuru's grades and how well she liked school, until he had to go to take care of some business stuff.

* * *

><p>School had started up again, and things were getting boring as per usual. The fun and excitement from summer was beginning to wear off on just about everyone that Minato had ran into during the day. Minako was talking to the crowd that she usually hung out with again. Minato could honestly say that he didn't like them too much, but never voiced his opinion about it because then he would have two girls on his case. Aigis was enough.<p>

Sho and Junpei had decided to form a "secret club" where all they did was bitch about school all day, which Yukari found to be mildly irritating. Minato remembered Aigis saying something about Yukari having a secret love for Junpei but never telling him about it, which made Minato giggle like a madman. He could see it now more than ever too, which was something that made him crack up even more.

Mitsuru was constantly biting her lip thinking about the troubling news that her father gave her a few nights ago, the fact that Ikutsuki was out and about. How were they even going to fight him? Then again, there was a team out to get him so that really didn't matter, right? She should stop worrying? But something just felt wrong about the whole thing, and she wouldn't get her mind off of it. Even Akihiko was starting to get worried about her, sometimes asking her if she needed someone to talk to. Mitsuru shut him down every time, thinking about what her father said about not letting anyone know about this.

Exploration of Tartarus started as soon as possible, and they were going at a decent clip. While they were scaling, they were looking around for clues as to how they can end the Dark Hour. They couldn't find anything, however, and Aigis wasn't able to help even though she desperately wanted to. The fact was, what they were doing now was the complete opposite of what Aigis was doing in her timeline.

Akihiko expressed interest in getting Shinjiro back into the team, and his efforts weren't in vain, they were just going horribly slow for him. Shinjiro would often end the conversation on a rather harsh not for Akihiko, leaving wherever they met.

Aigis had shown surprise when the day that they found Koromaru, they didn't recruit him into SEES. She kind of figured as much, however, as Ikutsuki was the one to introduce both him and Ken into the group. Now Ikutsuki was gone, never to return, right? So she didn't have to worry too much.

* * *

><p>"Shinji..." Akihiko said, walking into the back alley of the city. Shinjiro looked up and stared coldly at his old friend, wondering what the man was thinking coming back here after he said all those nasty things to him the last time that he came. Why did he keep on coming back here to bother him about joining SEES?<p>

"Aki, I told you once and I'm going to tell you again. I'm not joining SEES again. It's just not for me. Not after what I did to Ken," Shinjiro looked down to the ground.

"But what you did wasn't your fault, Shinji!" Akihiko yelled.

"But it could have been prevented!" Shinjiro countered. He was fed up with all the talks that Akihiko was giving him about how he should forget about the past and move on.

"I knew that you were going to say that. So I brought someone along with me," Akihiko said, stepping aside to reveal a blonde girl.

"Hi, Shinjiro-senpai. Akihiko-senpai's told me a lot about you. My name is Aigis," Aigis bowed, introducing herself to Shinjiro.

"What do you want?" Shinjiro asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about joining SEES, like Senpai's trying to do. I know that you'd rather take his word over mine, but please listen to what I have to say," Aigis said. "I learned something a long time ago about moving on from the past. You failed to save someone, and so you're carrying that guilt with you, and you have been carrying it with you for as long as you can remember. Well, I can relate to that. A long time ago, I lost someone dear to me that I loved very much. I was never the same after he died, and I would always be so sad whenever I came home. My friends would ask me what was the matter, and I would tell them that it was nothing, that it was something that they should just forget. I was never able to get his death out of my mind, and for a while it seemed like that until I met Akihiko-senpai and his friends. They showed me that you don't have to carry all that backbreaking guilt on your shoulders, because eventually, it's going to bundle up and become too much for you to handle, crushing you down to the ground. Keep shutting people out because you don't want to hurt them too, and eventually you'll have no one to pick you up when you fall. You have to move on from the past, Shinjiro-senpai. Please... fight the Dark Hour with us."

"...You..." Shinjiro stared into Aigis's eyes, and considered his options. He could stay here, getting treated like shit by the fellow dropouts, or he could go back and start fighting for what he thought was right again. If he had to think about it, he'd rather have some shelter. And the blonde girl was right. He didn't have to keep on shouldering all that guilt that he had for killing that boy's family. He laughed to himself, thinking the girl did a better job than his own damned best friend. "Fine. I'll come back."

"You will?" Akihiko asked with a smile. He held his hand out to his old friend, and the tall man took it and stood up from the barrel that he was sitting down on. He couldn't wait until he had something warm to sleep on again. Aigis smiled to herself as they walked back to the dorm. She had just helped her senpai get his old friend back into SEES, and she remembered how strong Shinjiro was. Things were definitely looking up. All she had to do was prevent Shinjiro dying from Takaya, and everything would be alright for her AND Akihiko.


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm sorry if the chapters are getting really boring lately... I just don't really know what to do with this fanfic... I love all the support that I've been getting, and I'm hoping that every single one of the chapters that I put out are entertaining for you all. **

**If you have anything that you want to say, then drop a review! It really helps to boost charisma.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 20: Bonding_

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><p>"So, Shinjiro-senpai, what do you like to do?" Fuuka asked. Shinjiro was accommodated into the dorm nicely, getting a room to himself unlike Minako, who slept with her brother and Sho, who was... well, wherever Sho was at night. Shinjiro was acting a little bit distant from the rest of the members of SEES, saying that he really didn't want to get along with them and that he just wanted to defeat the Shadows and get rid of the Dark Hour. Akihiko was quite mad, seeing as though he wanted his old friend to, well, act like a friend.<p>

"...Cook," Shinjiro mumbled, thinking about the fit that Akihiko would throw later on if he said nothing or the response that he was cooking up in his mind, which was nothing short of "go fuck yourself". He just didn't have it in his heart to tell that girl that anyway. She looked so shy and innocent, only saying that would put her further into her shell.

"Oh! I do too! Would you like to try what I made last night for dinner?" Fuuka asked, not even giving him the time to answer as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pack out of the freezer, bringing it over to Shinjiro. He opened it up and took a look inside.

'Did I just open a portal to hell?' Shinjiro asked himself as he took a whiff of what was inside, whatever it was that was inside. It smelled like a bowel movement. This was utterly horrible in every sense of the word. He looked back up at Fuuka, who was staring at him with an expectant look on her face. Did she want him to eat this!?

"Um, Fuuka... would you like me to teach you how to cook?" Shinjiro offered, shooting a pleading look Akihiko's way. The silver haired boy smiled and shook his head, leaving Shinjiro to put even more nails into the coffin.

"I'd like that very much!" Fuuka said with a smile. "Let's get started right away, senpai! Teach me everything!" She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away into the kitchen, putting a chef's hat that she pulled out of nowhere on her head.

Shinjiro inwardly sighed, and tried to make the best of the situation at hand. At least he won't be bored!

* * *

><p>"Akihiko... it's really like the old team's back, isn't it?" Mitsuru asked, grabbing the boxer by his shoulder. Akihiko turned to Mitsuru and smiled at her, thinking about the things that they used to do.<p>

"Yeah, I remember those times well," said Akihiko.

"Now we've got all these other people helping us out... volunteering to give their life for one simple cause. I find it quite amazing, to sometimes look back and think about all the things that's happened in my time fighting Shadows. I wonder where we would be, or what we would be doing if Aigis didn't come and reveal the truth to us? We would be ending the world without even realizing..." Mitsuru said.

"Time just seems to fly by really fast, doesn't it? To me it feels just like yesterday when I met Aigis and the others. I feel that out of everyone, Aigis and Minato have been the most influential to this entire team," Akihiko said.

"At first I just rolled along with it, sensing her ability to use a Persona," Mitsuru said. "I'm glad that I did."

"Mitsuru... have you been speaking to your father lately?" Akihiko asked, surprising Mitsuru with the unexpected question.

"What do you mean?" Mitsuru asked.

"I know that in the past you've been having a bit of a problem with your father. I was wondering if you were talking to him now?" Akihiko asked.

"I see... Well, yes, we have been talking to one another lately. It's funny that you bring that up, because I was just about to say that I even have my own father talking to me now, worrying about me, even... it's all so surreal... Aigis connected all of our loose ends," Mitsuru said.

"Aigis's speech about moving on from the past that she gave to Shinjiro to convince him to join changed something in me, too. It made me realize that by me trying to get stronger and stronger was just my way of running away from the fact that Miki is dead... I've been using my training as an excuse just so I can get it off of my mind," Akihiko said.

"Akihiko..." Mitsuru put a hand on his shoulder. Akihiko looked up at her and smiled at the Kirijo.

"Don't worry about me, Mitsuru. I'm fine," Akihiko said.

"Akihiko, let's try out best from here on out to defeat the Shadows. Let's try to get rid of this Dark Hour once and for all," Mitsuru said.

"Yeah. Let's do it together," Akihiko boldly took Mitsuru's hand in his as he said those words. Suddenly, something clicked within the two. Their Personas evoked themselves and appeared before them, changing as they did so.

"Our Personas..." Mitsuru stared at them with wide eyes.

"They're... evolving!" Akihiko pointed out. "Caesar..."

"And Artemesia..." Mitsuru said.

"It's like it's a sign..." Akihiko said. "Maybe we're going down the right path... Maybe it's because we realized what's really important to us. Moving on from the past, and not letting those things bother us anymore. Like I said before, Mitsuru... I want to progress through to a better future... with you."

"I'll gladly accept your offer, Akihiko..." Mitsuru smiled at the boxer.

* * *

><p>"Yo! Never expected to see you out here!" Sho yelled, waving to the blue haired boy that was standing on the roof of the dorm. The Dark Hour had hit, and Minato just wanted to stare out to the moon.<p>

"Sho? I thought that you'd be inside now," Minato turned around to look at the red head as he walked up to him. Sho stopped right next to him and turned his attention towards the moon.

"You like it too, huh? I would never admit this to those guys downstairs because they'd think I was crazy, but there's just a certain beauty to the Dark Hour that I gotta appreciate," Sho said.

"Everything's so still... almost no one is around town because they're all coffins. Every now and then you can hear the Shadows, but it's relatively quiet... and the sky is beautiful," Minato said. "I know what you're coming from, Sho. I agree with you wholeheartedly."

"So why are you fighting it?" Sho asked. "Why are we fighting against it if we appreciate it? I ask myself that question a lot of times. Maybe you can answer that question for me?"

Moments passed by in silence as the two only looked at the moon. A small breeze blowing through, making Sho's jacket that was wrapped around his waist start to flow through the wind. Finally, Minato turned his head to Sho and spoke.

"I don't know."

It was a simple answer. If he thought about it, no one really knew what they were fighting for.

"It's funny. I don't know either," Sho said.

This was one of the rare times that the boy was being serious, which surprised Minato. He thought that if he said he didn't know he would get a snide remark in return, but he was proven wrong.

"So, you got any family besides your sister?" Sho asked. "I know this is a touchy topic, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"A cousin," Minato said.

"Ah..." Sho nodded. "Me... I didn't have anyone. I was an orphan from the beginning, and I'm sure that you already know what happened because of that. Takaya explained that enough when we met him."

"Sho, you know what I want to do? I said it to Mitsuru and Fuuka. I want to get rid of the Dark Hour and make this world a better place. I've given up so many times in my life... I know I'm not gonna do it anymore. From now on, I'm never gonna give up. On anything," Minato said. And suddenly, Orpheus evoked itself, bursting out of Minato. The Persona started to change form, with Minato and Sho watching it.

Eventually the Persona changed into something that was familiar to Minato. It was the Persona that Aigis summoned while fighting the two Arcana Shadows that were threatening Fuuka's life.

"Your Persona changed!" Sho exclaimed, pointing at Thanatos, who stood there with its arms crossed. The Persona was looking straight at Minato, although in his eyes he could consider it glaring.

"I guess... when you realize what's important to you, and you have some kind of resolution about what you want to do, your Persona changes..." Minato said.

"Guess so..." Sho said. "Well, I don't have a Persona so I wouldn't know. Minazuki does, but I think it's the best that he can get it."

"Sho, let's try to do our best together from now on, alright?" Minato asked, holding out his hand. Sho took it in his own and shook it. After that, the two went down back into the dorm. They were getting tired, and they wanted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Minato sat down on the couch, watching TV with Junpei. The two had bonded greatly over the months that they've known each other, and usually on Sundays they just sat down together, bored out of their mind. Today was September 10th. Aigis was staring at Minato expectantly sometimes, but whenever he noticed and looked back at her, she would look like she knew better than to expect whatever it was she was expecting.<p>

Finally, Minato decided that it was time to get up and ask her what was wrong. He stood up, handing the remote to Junpei, and walked on over to Aigis, putting his hand on her right shoulder. She looked up into his eyes, and Minato smiled back at her.

"Is there anything wrong, Ai-chan? You look like you're expecting something," he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Today was the day that I was created, back in 2000. But you wouldn't know that because I've never told you. I usually just celebrate the day myself, though. But you know... I started to think of it as my birthday, not the day that I was created. I mean, it's the same difference, but if you refer to it differently, then it does make it somewhat different. Made me feel better... made me feel human," said Aigis.

"Come with me," Minato said, staring into her eyes once more, getting lost in them. He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her off the chair she was sitting on, much like she did to him most of the time. Aigis didn't know what the boy was thinking, but when he led her into his room her mind started to race.

"It's your birthday, so I wanted to spend some time with you alone," explained Minato, noticing how flustered the girl was getting. "You know, to make it special."

"Oh..." Aigis sighed.

"A few days ago, me and Sho had a talk about what we wanted to do. And we both decided... we're gonna see this through to the end and never give up. Have you made any decisions like that, Aigis?" Minato asked.

"Yes, I have, actually... it was the day that I was repaired and I came back... I told you all not to fight against Nyx... but you guys wouldn't listen. You convinced me that hope wasn't lost, and that I shouldn't give up. It was the same resolution that you made. That's how I got Athena..." said Aigis. "It's funny... it's kind of painful just thinking about the past now."

"I can understand why. You were friends with them, and you feel like you've thrown them away, right? I don't know what I can say about that to make you feel better other than... If they were good friends, they'd respect your decision," Minato said.

"...Thank you, Minato-kun..." Aigis said. "You're... always there for me whenever I'm feeling down. I don't know what I would do without you..."

"Aigis... I do that because I love you," said Minato.

"I know... and... I love you too," Aigis responded, hugging Minato. They broke the hug, and Aigis just stared at Minato. Something flickered in her eyes.

"Aigis, what are you looking at?" Minato asked, looking behind him to see if there was something of interest there. Nothing but his laptop and desk, and then Minako's side of the room.

"It's funny... in the past, I asked _you_ to come to _my_ room, and now it's the opposite," Aigis said.

"Oh yeah?" Minato rose an eyebrow. Was this going where he thought it was going?

"My room was so weird compared to yours. It had a charging stand, it had various bullets lying around, basically it was an armory! This room... it's bland. Why is it so empty, Minato? All you have is a closet, a bed, and a desk. There's a TV in there, but it doesn't look like it's been touched by _you_. I know Minako's in this room too..." said Aigis.

"My room's not that important. At least, my side isn't. It's just a room, you know? I'm mostly out of it anyway, unless it's Saturday night, since I've committed myself to some 'me' time every Saturday," Minato explained.

"I see..." Aigis said. "Minato-kun, I have something for you."

"Really? I was planning on throwing something together for you since it's your birthday and all," Minato said. "Here, since you're the birthday girl you go first. Lemme surprise you."

Aigis pulled a few pieces of paper and a few pictures out of her pocket. Minato grabbed them out of her hands and looked at them closely. He recognized the writing on the papers as his own handwriting? How did she get her hands on this?

"Dear Ai-chan, how are you doing? I can't forgive Ryoji for what he's done to you, but he's a part of me, right? So hating him would be hating myself. I've thought about what you wrote to me, and I'm not going through with it. He's staying alive. I'm not going to just run away from Nyx. Hey, if I'm going down, mind as well have it in a blaze of glory, am I right!? Get better soon, Ai-chan. I can't wait until you're home. Love, Minato Arisato," Minato read.

He turned to the other paper and started to read that out loud as well. "Dear Ai-chan, You're still not fixed yet you damned toaster? Haha, I'm just kidding. I'd never say that to you. It's looking like you'll be fixed by the end of December if what I've been hearing from Mitsuru-senpai is right. Please... please come back safe Aigis. You're everything to me. I won't be able to take it if you can't get repaired. Fight, girl! Love, Minato Arisato."

Minato looked at the bundle of pictures that Aigis gave him. One was him and a blonde haired girl with striking blue eyes standing in front of the shrine. He was wearing his normal outfit for the winter while the girl was wearing some kind of... body suit? He looked a little bit closer, and found that the girl wasn't wearing anything at all! She was a robot! He looked up to Aigis, and she nodded in response to his silent question.

The second picture was the two of them on the rooftop of the school, staring out into the setting sun. And the third, the one that hit Minato the most, was one of the two of them kissing on that same rooftop. Aigis looked so happy in that picture, and so did he. It was like they forgot all of the problems that they had with the Dark Hour... he longed for something like that.

"Aigis, I..." Minato began.

"I found those pictures and those letters in my pocket when I came to the past. I don't know how they got in there, but I was saving them for a special moment..." Aigis explained.

"I don't think what I can give you can compare," Minato said.

"Anything from you is enough to satisfy me," she responded.

"Well... here," Minato, in an act that almost made Aigis gasp in shock, grabbed his MP3 player and his headphones, and handed it over to Aigis. "That thing was my entire life back when I was a kid. Music was my only escape from my horrible reality that I was forced to live. So... I want to pass that on to you. It's yours now. Because you're my life now," Minato said. "I know... it's cheesy, but please, take it."

In not even a millisecond, she was on him, hugging him as tight as she could.

"Minato, there's something else that I want to give to you..." Aigis said in such a way that Minato could instantly understand what she was talking about.

"Aigis... you're sure?" Minato asked.

"As sure as ever..." Aigis responded, letting go of Minato and blushing a deep shade of red.

"I don't have to do this to you if you don't want me to," Minato said.

"No... I... I want this," Aigis said.

After a long-winded sigh, Minato spoke again. "If you want me to stop, I _will_ stop."

* * *

><p>From outside the door, almost everyone was gathered, listening and waiting for what was going to happen next. Junpei fist pumped before Yukari slapped him, saying that "this is a beautiful moment that shouldn't be ruined by perverts".<p>

Sho responded, "How come we're sittin' by the door then, perv?"

"Shut up, Sho!" Yukari nearly screeched.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Persona, dangit!**

_Chapter 21: Ken Amada  
><em>

* * *

><p>Minato stirred awake when he felt an unfamiliar sensation. Was Minako hugging him or something? No, that couldn't be right... He didn't ever get near his sister when she was sleeping. She was a special kind of monster when she was tired. So then, what was it? He felt naked skin touch his, and he shot his head around to take a look at what was doing that to him.<p>

Aigis was peacefully sleeping, her steady breaths making her chest slowly rise up and down. Her hair was an absolute mess, every strand spread out. She had a serene smile on her face, like she was reliving a happy moment over and over again.

The blonde slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden light that was shining in through the window. She looked over to the blue haired boy and realized that she was in his room, his bed.

Memories of last night and what the two did flooded her mind. How he touched her, how he kissed her...

"You're up," stated Minato, almost making Aigis jump. She smiled at the boy, and then looked down at his body. She remembered how muscular he was for someone of his size. Minato was thinking the same, taking note of her slender body.

"Minato, we really did it?" Aigis asked.

"Looks like," nodded Minato.

"Was it... good?"

"Of course it was," Minato told her, lifting up her spirits. She got up out of bed, moving toward the door. Minato grabbed her by the shoulder, getting up himself.

"You're still naked, Ai," he warned. Aigis looked down at gasped. How could she have forgotten!? She blushed deeply, realizing that it was the same for him too.

Minato looked over to the closet and ran into it, saying, "I'll get you something. I'm sure Minako won't mind."

"Thank you, Minato," Aigis bowed.

Minato chuckled at the gesture, handing Aigis her clothes. "Ai, there's no need to be so formal! I'm your lover now, right?"

* * *

><p>Minato and Minako sat down on the couch watching the TV with bored expressions on their faces. Suddenly, Minako turned to Minato with a smile on her face that just screamed that she knew something.<p>

"So... I heard that last night my brother and my best friend were having a little bit of fun together..." she said.

"What are you talking about?" Minato narrowed his eyes, not knowing what his twin was talking about.

"Well, when I hear rapid shouts of your name coming from our room, I'm led to assume that you... uh... you know," Minako trailed off, waiting for Minato to take the hint.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" he crossed his arms and turned away, a deep blush forming.

"Seems like you do, Minato!" Minako smiled widely, hugging her brother. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"If you were out there... was everyone else out there, too?" Minato asked, not caring about the congratulations that he just got. At least not yet. He needed to know if what he just did with Aigis was etched into everyone's minds or not.

"Yukari was on the verge of slapping Junpei and Sho... and Mitsuru and Akihiko and Shinjiro were wondering what the hell you two were doing to make you both scream like that, and Fuuka passed out from the implication of what you two were doing," Minako explained.

"Oh son of a bitch," Minato swore, looking fearful of what Mitsuru might do to him.

"Oh don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything like that. In fact, everyone was congratulating both you and Aigis. It was like they were celebrating the day that you FINALLY relieved all of that sexual tension between the two of you! Because, brother, it was pretty damned obvious," Minako deadpanned.

"Alright alright..." Minato shook his head. "So I had sex with Aigis, what do you want from me?"

"Nothing really," Minako said. "I just wanted to let you know that we know."

Minato rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. Aren't you the best sister a guy could ever ask for?"

"And the cutest," Minako pointed at Minato, turning back to the TV.

* * *

><p>Shinjiro was sitting down on the roof of the building, staring out at the setting sun. He recalled overhearing Aigis speaking about how she loved to do the same thing herself. He couldn't blame her. Even though he was a man that cared about very little, he could appreciate the beauty that nature could offer someone.<p>

He started to think about the current things that were happening. Shinjiro was told that sometimes at night they would be encountering a group of three teens that went by the name of Strega when they were together. They were usually trying in some way to foil their plans of getting rid of the Dark Hour. Aigis was the one who knew about them the most, so he had asked her some questions about them. She answered him with simple answers, not going too well into details. Maybe either it was painful to remember what they did, or she was hiding something from him.

To him, it seemed like a combination of both, but more along the lines of her not wanting to remember what Strega did.

Whatever the case was, what that girl said to him got to him. He couldn't believe that he was convinced so easily by just a few words from that girl, but then again, he's been hearing all sorts of extraordinary things about that girl. Akihiko even told him that she was one of the strongest members of SEES, even! A small, frail looking girl like that! Shinjiro laughed dryly, wondering when his life started tumbling down as bad as it is now.

Then he remembered. When he killed that Amada kid's parents.

"I knew you'd be up here," a familiar voice called out to him. Akihiko was walking up to Shinjiro along with Mitsuru. They sat down next to him and Akihiko put a hand on his shoulder. "I remember when we used to stare up at the sky here, saying to ourselves that we were gonna make this world better. Can you believe that we're already on the way to doing just that?"

Shinjiro shrugged and turned his head to Akihiko. "It seems pretty surreal to me. I never thought that I would return to SEES, at least not after what I did to Ken Amada," he said, looking down to the ground.

"You're still feeling guilty about what happened?" Mitsuru asked. "Shinjiro, you don't have to act that way. I feel guilty for not telling everyone about why the Dark Hour existed, and having to have my father tell it for me. But I've moved on from that guilt..."

"But you don't understand to know what it means to actually kill someone, Mitsuru. I have to take pills every day to repress this Persona and make sure that it doesn't harm anyone near me anymore. This thing is a monster that will stop at nothing to kill everything," Shinjiro said.

"That's only because that's what you think of it! Your Persona can do good things if you put your mind to it! You can stop taking those pills, Shinjiro! Don't you know what they're going to do to you?" Akihiko nearly exploded.

"I know full well what they're going to do to me, and that's why I take them!" Shinjiro countered, standing up off of the bench that he was sitting on for emphasis. "No one's gonna miss me anyway."

This time, it was Mitsuru who stood up and surprised Shinjiro by slapping him across the face so hard that he fell to the ground. Shinjiro rubbed his cheek, glaring at the red head in rage, who was returning the same glare. "If you say something like that, then you're an idiot. There are people that are going to miss you. Akihiko and I are one of them. Don't you dare say that you're not important in this world, and that no one would miss you. Because that's not the truth. Just by being here you've made a difference!"

"Mitsuru..." Shinjiro stood up, looking down to the ground again.

"Look Shinji... what we're trying to tell you is that you can't just tell yourself that you're a monster because you killed that kid's parents..." Akihiko said. "Sure, that boy is without a home now, but it wasn't your fault. It was something that was beyond your control."

"Fine, then..." Shinjiro sighed. "I guess there's really no avoiding it when my two friends are telling me this, huh?"

"Shinjiro, the full moon is tomorrow night. We're going to go and try to find some more clues regarding the Dark Hour," explained Akihiko.

"Alright then... I guess I got no choice but to follow you guys around," Shinjiro said, with the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"Again!"<p>

Aigis let out a shout as she ran towards Sho with her sword behind her, raising it into the air and bringing it down, only for it to be knocked away by Minazuki's left katana. She ducked underneath a follow-up slice with his right, and then tried to slash him again. It was once again blocked, but this time Minazuki knocked the sword out of her hands. Minazuki kicked her away, letting her run towards the sword one more time.

He reached into his pocket and took out three knives to throw at Aigis. Aigis saw them coming, and summoned Athena to block them with its shield. She hastily picked up her sword and ran towards Minazuki with Athena in front of her, blocking any attacks that he might be using on her. She looked around the Persona to see that Minazuki was gone, without a trace.

Aigis's eyes widened and she turned around on her heel just in time to block a cross slash aimed at her back from Minazuki.

"I'm disappointed in you, Aigis. I would think that you would at least be able to land a blow on me by now," Minazuki said. "I have been training you for two months now, and I expected a little bit more."

"It's not exactly easy to keep up with you!" Aigis spat, attempting to kick Minazuki off his feet. The red head laughed in response and jumped up into the air, pulling a fist back to punch Aigis in the face.

"That's the purpose! I told you before, as soon as we started this: if you dealt one solid blow to me you would win!" Minazuki yelled as his fist was deflected by Aigis's arm.

"Yeah, well going so fast is cheating!" Aigis yelled, blocking a kick with her knee.

"If you can't catch up to me, then how can you ever hope to defeat me when I'm at my true power?" Minazuki asked with a smirk, knowing that telling Aigis he was holding back would tip her off, making her angry and eventually, making her moves sloppy.

'I can't let him make me mad... that's exactly what he wants! If I've learned anything from him over these months, it's that he likes to taunt as he fights!' Aigis noted, repeating it in her head over and over again, eventually calming herself down. Minazuki jumped into the air and crossed his katanas underneath of him, bringing them up in a cross motion to send a wave of red at Aigis. Her Persona stepped in to guard the attack, and charged at Minazuki in retaliation. His eyes widened as the shield bashed him, sending him flying out of the air and into the ground. Aigis was one step ahead of him, reaching him before he even got a chance to move.

With one quick motion, Minazuki jumped up on the ground and shot his legs forward in hopes to hit Aigis. The blonde saw this coming and grabbed his legs, making Minazuki's eyes widen once again. She picked him up into the air and dropped him, catching him quickly again. He knew what was coming next, bracing himself. Aigis flipped over, slamming his head into the ground.

"I don't believe this!" Minazuki yelled, getting up off of the ground, rubbing the top of his head. Aigis put a satisfied smirk on her face, looking right into Minazuki's eyes.

"Well well well, looks like I won this one!" Aigis announced proudly.

"It looks as though you are right. Alright then... training complete. You are no longer under my wing," Minazuki said. "I must say that I am rather impressed that you were able to keep a level head and land that blow on me."

"Thanks, Minazuki-kun," Aigis bowed.

"The full moon is tomorrow night, so you had best be prepared. Show me what you learned from our training together," Minazuki said, leaving the rooftop and going back into the dorm. Aigis followed closely behind him.

* * *

><p>Aigis stopped by the shrine right after school to pray to whatever god would listen that their journey in Tartarus tonight would be a safe one. Every time she came here she remembered the countless times that Minato took her here to walk Koromaru. She turned around, looking for the dog. It wasn't in sight at all. Which was odd, because the dog would always be at the shrine protecting it from people who wished to do harm to it.<p>

It seemed like the dog was gone. Maybe it had left...

She wasn't looking where she was walking, and accidentally bumped into someone, saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she looked down to see that Ken Amada was staring up at her with a curious expression on his face.

"Hello!" he smiled at her, trying his best to ignore the fact that this woman bumped into him just a few seconds ago. The fact that she said "sorry" instead of "watch where you're walking" like most of the other people in the city just earned her a spot in his "nice person" list.

Aigis couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't expect to see Ken at all since Ikutsuki never recruited him into SEES, considering he was trapped before he could.

"Hi, what's your name?" Aigis asked, even though she already knew the kid's name. It would be weird if she said "oh, hey Ken-kun!" to him.

"I'm Ken Amada," Ken said.

"What are you doing at this shrine, Ken-kun?" Aigis asked, looking over to the gates.

"I'm here to pray... for my family. They... passed away due to a car crash two years ago," Ken explained, looking like he wanted to tell the truth to someone so badly, but he just couldn't. Aigis could relate to that, as the first few months of her time here she had promised herself that she wouldn't tell anyone that she was from the future, but eventually that truth did come out...

"Ken-kun... I've seen enough people lie to know that you're lying right now. They didn't really die in a car crash, did they?" Aigis asked. She knew that it wasn't the right thing to say to a little boy, but she had to get the truth out. She had to convince Ken somehow that Shinjiro shouldn't be to blame for his parent's death. She wanted Akihiko and Shinjiro to enjoy life together. It was something that they missed out on.

"If I told you the truth, then you wouldn't believe me," Ken looked away, glaring at the ground rather harshly, as if that was the source of all of his problems.

"Try me. There's a lot of strange things that I know," Aigis said, smiling down at the boy.

"Alright... here goes. This is probably going to be the strangest thing that you've heard then. My parents weren't really killed in a car crash, that's what they newspaper said. In reality, they were killed by a monster... it came out of someone, and it looked like a horse. I vowed to myself that day that I would kill the man who unleashed that monster onto them," Ken explained.

"I see," Aigis nodded. "Well, Ken-kun... I know that you probably won't listen to me when I say this, but you shouldn't go and kill someone just for revenge. Sometimes, the ultimate revenge is not being affected by what that person did. Do you understand what I'm saying? Maybe instead of killing someone, you should live the life that your parents would have wanted."

"Oh what do you know!?" Ken snapped, pushing Aigis aside, making her fall onto her back. "You're just another stupid grown up! I thought that you were a nice person, but you're just talking down to me like everyone else does! I'm done with people like you!" the boy ran off, leaving Aigis only to stare at his retreating figure as she got up and brushed herself off.

"Ken-kun..." was the only thing that Aigis could say, proceeding to walk home.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 22: The Reaper_

* * *

><p>"Okay, as always, four people are going to go up into the tower itself, and the rest will stay down here to hold down the fort and make sure that Strega doesn't come to try and sabotage the mission," ordered Mitsuru, standing at the spot that she always stood at in the base of Tartarus, right to the right of the stairs that led into the first floor.<p>

However, they didn't take that staircase anymore. They had found something that was much better, although disorienting. There was a green teleporter on the 5th floor, and when Aigis touched it, they had been sent back to the bottom floor. The blonde remembered that Minato had done something similar all the time in the past, which was how they climbed the hellish tower as fast as they were. They committed to going in every full moon because every full moon one of the blockades in Tartarus that prevented them from moving on to the other blocks dissipated. They were pretty close to the top, actually moving on to going near the 5th block. They weren't there just yet, however, which was what they were going to attempt to do tonight.

"Minato-kun, I think maybe you should be the leader tonight," Aigis said, patting him on the back.

"Alright," Minato nodded. The two were taking turns being the leader of the missions for a long time. "So then... I pick Sho, Shinjiro-senpai, and... Yukari."

"Let's get on with the show then!" Sho exclaimed, walking towards the green teleporter. Shinjiro merely grunted in reply, while Yukari smiled widely. She hasn't been up there for a long time now, and it was about time that she got her bearings. Aigis sighed in disappointment in not being picked by Minato, but she figured that it was for the better so that she could guard everyone downstairs. She understood however, that Yukari was a much better healer than she could ever be.

Minato stepped into the green teleporter and vanished instantly.

* * *

><p>At the 4th block, where they left off last full moon, Minato walked over to the stairs and prepared to go up, waiting for the others to reach him first. When everyone was grouped together, he proceeded into the higher floors of the 4th block. Aigis warned Minato of tanks that were colored red, saying that they gave everyone a lot of trouble when they came across them.<p>

Minato took her word for it, seeing as though she knew Tartarus, because well, she had climbed it before in her time.

"Hey, you hear that, right?" Sho asked, tapping Shinjiro on the shoulder. The taller man turned to the read head and nodded his head. Soon enough, Minato started hearing whatever they were talking about as well. It was undeniably the sound of chains shaking. But what Shadow would be doing that? Out of all the Shadows that they've encountered here, none of them had chains on them. Was this some kind of guardian Shadow?

No, that couldn't be right. They weren't even on a "guardian floor" as Minato called them. They were usually smaller than all the other ones, and had the green teleporter somewhere in them along with two chests that usually had something good inside for them to use. Lately, Minato's been finding a lot of yen.

"Those chains are kind of unnerving..." Yukari said, shuddering a little bit. She looked over to see what the others thought about it, and realized that they were kind of fearful as well. These guys were generally fearless! What could be doing this to them!?

"Fuuka, what is that thing!?" Minato yelled, looking around the corner to see what was making that noise. He could swear that it was getting louder and louder by the second. Minato got no response, and he started to worry a little bit. Did Strega attack already or something? "Fuuka, please answer me!"

* * *

><p>Fuuka stared with wide eyes as Strega walked into the base of Tartarus, wearing confident smirks on their faces. Mitsuru and Aigis were the first to draw their weapons, staring them down with fury in their eyes. Takaya smirked as he stopped walking when he reached Aigis.<p>

"Why hello, SEES," Takaya said. "How fare you on this fine night?"

"What are you doing here, Takaya!?" Aigis yelled, getting ready to fight.

"What does it look like, you stupid girl? We're here to stop you from destroying the Dark Hour," Jin said, throwing a grenade into the air and catching it. Aigis remembered his skill with grenades... she would have to be careful of him while they were fighting. They both liked to attack from afar, but with her most recent battle with Takaya, she found out that he was good at close combat as well.

"Why do you want to stop us?" asked Akihiko. "The Dark Hour kills people... why would you ever protect something like that?"

"Why? It's simple, really. Who else can stay awake during the Dark Hour besides us?" asked Takaya. "This is a marvelous frontier that only we can explore. Why would you want to take that away from us, let alone yourselves?"

"And really... who's going to guarantee that if you get rid of the Dark Hour, we will still have what makes us special?" Jin continued. "You can't deny that you're not at least a little scared about what might happen, right?"

"Yeah, I admit that I'm scared about what might happen if we get rid of the Dark Hour, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to sit by and let it slowly destroy this world!" Junpei yelled.

"I see," Jin said. "Well, I think we've stalled enough, right Takaya, Chidori?"

"Stalled!?" Aigis asked, running towards Jin. "What do you mean stalled!?"

A powerful punch from Hypnos sent Aigis flying into the stairs that led into the first floor of Tartarus. Takaya stood there with a cocky smirk on his face.

"You'd better hurry... they may not survive long enough..." Takaya said, turning around and walking away with his two goons. Aigis got up off of the stairs and ran down to Fuuka with a worried expression on her face.

"Fuuka, please see if Minato is alright!" Aigis said in a commanding tone. Fuuka quickly nodded and summed Lucia, scanning with the Persona to see if Minato and the others were alright.

"What did he mean by "stalled"?" Mitsuru asked. "Is there something up there that we should be worrying about...?"

"Yes," Aigis nodded, a grave expression on her face. "There's something that haunts the halls of Tartarus... its name is "The Reaper". It's a Shadow that belongs to the Death Arcana, for good reason. It's the strongest Shadow there is... Minato had to push himself to the limit to destroy it. It usually never bothered us while we were climbing up the halls, but I guess Strega agitated it and sent it after Minato and the others. If that's the case, then... they're in a load of trouble."

"The Reaper? That sounds pretty serious..." Junpei said.

"It is," Aigis stated. "It... almost killed him."

"Fuuka, can you hear me!? Something's coming! Please respond!" they heard the panicked voice of Minato in their heads. Aigis gasped. She didn't know that the Reaper had gotten to them that fast!

"Minato-kun, I can hear you! Aigis has informed me about what you're dealing with! Please... please be careful and fight hard! There's no way to get up to you guys in time!" Fuuka yelled.

"Oh, that's great! Aigis, you know what this is? Care to inform me!?" Minato asked.

"That is the Reaper... it's a Shadow that belongs to the Death Arcana. It's very very powerful, and it uses very large scale attacks," Aigis said. "Please be careful!"

* * *

><p>"Careful, huh? I hope there's a way to avoid it..." Minato said, ending his conversation with the others down at the base. Yukari gave Minato an expectant look, wanting to know what Minato was talking about.<p>

"Well, we're all fucked if we don't haul ass," Minato said. "There's something coming after us called the Reaper and if we don't avoid it it's going to kill us because it's pretty damned strong according to Ai-chan."

"So, what you're saying is we need to get the hell outta here as soon as possible and the mission's cancelled," Sho said. "Well, shit. Here I was expecting to have a good time! I outta show that thing a piece of my mind so that it knows to never come back here!"

"Sho, now's not the time for something like that! You heard what he said. If we don't get out of here it's going to end our lives, and what will that prove? That we were just being reckless boneheads," Shinjiro said, already starting to get a move on. Minato was following close behind, along with the others.

Soon enough, though, their luck ran out. A hellish looking monster that was wearing what looked like a bloodied black coat with chains wrapped around it appeared from out of nowhere. It held two _huge _revolvers in its hands. Minato's eyes widened at the sight.

"What the fuck is that!?" Sho asked, actually a little bit afraid of what the thing was going to do to them. There was no denying it. This was the Reaper, wasn't it?

The Reaper pointed one of its large guns at Sho, and prepared to fire. Sho saw the shot coming and moved to the left at a lighting fast speed, hastily grabbing two knives from his shirt pocket and throwing them at the Shadow. A blueish barrier appeared around the Shadow as the knives made contact, bouncing off of them and going right back to Sho.

Thanatos appeared right in front of Sho with its coffins facing the knives, making them bounce off again, but this time, falling to the floor harmlessly. Sho gave Minato a nod while Thanatos turned back towards the Reaper. The Shadow seemed to stare at Minato's Persona in acknowledgement, but that break was soon gone as it shot multiple rounds of bullets at Thanatos. The Persona wrapped itself in a green wind, throwing them around everywhere. Yukari, Shinjiro, and Minato all ducked while Sho jumped into the air to get a slash in on the Reaper.

"Is there no avoiding a fight with this thing!?" Yukari asked, hurriedly dodging an outburst of purple fog. Minato realized soon that the Reaper was trying to instantly get rid of them with Hama and Mudo skills. He was sure glad that he took a few extra Homunculus gems with him so he didn't have to worry about it. However, what he did have to worry about was the gunfire from the Reaper, and whatever else it had in store.

"Minato!" Yukari yelled, pushing him to the side abruptly. Minato looked up to see that countless arrows were about to rain down on him. The Reaper was glaring at him with some sort of sick thrill in its eyes. Minato thought that Sho's menacing glare was scary enough...

"Thank you, Yukari-chan," Minato nodded towards Yukari in thanks for what she did. Minato stood up and commanded Thanatos to draw the katana that it had at its side and slashed at the Reaper. Fortunately this time a physical attack landed on the Shadow. The sheer thickness of the coat that it was wearing stopped the blade, but Minato couldn't deny that damage had been done, however minimal it might be. He knew that this was going to be a rough fight, so what did he expect?

"Hey, you actually got a hit on that thing!?" Sho asked in disbelief. "So that blue barrier meant that it was blocking physical attacks once. Maybe that's a skill it has, kind of like how we've got our own skills for our Personas?"

"That's right!" Fuuka's voice interrupted. "I can tell you if that Shadow has a Tetrakarn or a Makarakarn up! When I say Tetrakarn I mean that it will reflect all physical attacks, and if I say Makarakarn, I mean that it will reflect magical attacks! You have to be careful when you're fighting it! Don't worry, I'll keep you updated."

"Yeah! Thanks, Fuuka!" Minato fist pumped, getting pumped up to fight with the Reaper. If he knew what was going to be reflected and what wasn't this fight would get a bit easier. He just needed to worry about the attacks that could actually hurt him, like the attack that sent millions of arrows at him. He remembered seeing it before from Mitsuru while she was fighting against a rather tough Shadow in Tartarus one night. If he remembered right, that thing did a lot of damage, and the Shadow was beyond unrecognizable then. He really didn't want that to hit him. He liked his looks.

"I hope we're gonna make it out of this one alive," Shinjiro said, raising his hammer. He was about to strike down on the Shadow, but the Reaper was one step ahead of him, sending harsh gusts of wind in Shinjiro's direction. The wind actually cut a few wounds open on his face, it was going so fast. Yukari ran to Shinjiro and got to healing him immediately, rendering Minato and Sho the only ones that could fight the Reaper right now.

Sho nodded at Minato, and ran towards the left. Minato took the right of the Reaper, and the Shadow began to look confused. Even though it looked like it was smart, it still referred to primal instinct. That was good for the others. It meant that they could formulate a plan of action before going to strike the Reaper.

Sho went limp, signifying that he was going to attack. Minato knew that he was going to start slashing the Reaper rapidly, so he decided that he was going to blast the Reaper with an ice spell at its feet to make sure that it didn't move while Sho was wailing on it. Four medium sized icicles shot out of the coffins that Thanatos had wrapped around it, and shot towards the Reaper. The Shadow didn't know what to do with two attacks coming in from both sides. So instead, it decided to do something absolutely insane. Something that neither Minato nor Sho could have predicted.

The air around the Shadow condensed, and then all of a sudden, a humongous explosion erupted, sending both Minato and Sho flying backwards and into separate walls.

"Oh my God!" Yukari yelled, quickly finishing up with Shinjiro and running towards Minato. She started to heal him while Shinjiro stood in front of Sho, determined to protect him from the Reaper. He wasn't going to let one of his comrades get hurt, not because of something that he neglected to do. He wasn't that type of person anymore, if anything that he and Akihiko and Mitsuru were talking about resonated with him.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt one of my friends," Shinjiro said, holding his hammer menacingly. The Reaper took it as a challenge, and gently floated towards Shinjiro, seeing as though it didn't have any legs. It pointed one of its elongated guns at Shinjiro, and the tall man summoned his Persona in defense. He now knew the kind of firepower that the Shadow held, and he couldn't deny that it was scary powerful. But he would stand up against it and fight on. He had to, for the sake of everyone, right?

Who knew what was going to happen if they let this monster roam the halls of Tartarus? What if it made its way down to the base floor somehow? He couldn't let something like that happen to them.

Yukari finished up with Minato and ran over to Sho. As she was doing that, the Reaper aimed a gun at Shinjiro. Before anyone could move, a thunderous hammer slammed down on the Reaper, sending it flying down the end of the hallway. A menacing looking Persona that had some sort of helmet on it was looming over behind Minato.

"Jeez... if I hadn't summoned Thor right then..." Minato began, getting up wearily. He dismissed Thor and swapped it out for Thanatos, the God of Death looming over Minato, waiting for the Reaper to return.

"I owe you one, Minato," Shinjiro said, nodding towards the blue haired boy. Sho got up off his back and stared down the hall, looking for when the Reaper would come back.

"...The Reaper... it's gone," Sho began.

"No way!" Minato yelled.

"Um... isn't there another pathway that we went through to get here? Do you think that it's coming around from behind us!?" Yukari asked. She was getting steadily more and more paranoid as the fight went on. She was thankful that she was healing everyone, or they would never last. Maybe Minato saw it coming, and decided that he would be needing someone with healing talents like Yukari's.

Just like Yukari said, however, the Reaper came charging in behind them, thinking that it was going to take them by surprise. Sho stared at the Reaper with a murderous intent in his eyes. Minato could feel that he had made the switch.

"It's show time," a calmer voice said that obviously belonged to Sho. Minazuki was here, and he was read to kick some Reaper ass.

Shinjiro ran towards the Reaper and slammed it in its side with his hammer, sending it into the wall. Minazuki took that as an opening to cloak his katanas in the red and black fire that Tsukuyomi controlled, sending it flying in a cross shape towards the Reaper. The Shadow didn't see what was coming to it as it let out some kind of horrible screech. Minato and the others couldn't believe their eyes as the Reaper started to dissolve right before their very eyes.

"We... did it! We... lived through that horrible nightmare!" Yukari yelled, actually jumping for joy. Minazuki smirked as he looked at the two men that were alongside with him.

"Well, how's that? I owe this victory to you three," Minazuki said.

"What do you mean? You did all the damage," Minato said.

"Not quite, actually, Minato. The Reaper was severely weakened by both your Persona, and Shinjiro's hammer. Given the right tactics, anyone can defeat something that's much stronger than them," Minazuki explained.

"I see," Minato said. "Well, it seems like we're getting late into the Dark Hour, so instead of pressing on we should head back."

"A shame that we didn't find out anything new," Minazuki commented.

"No, I did learn something. The higher we go up, the stronger the Shadows are. So if we reach the very top of the tower, then we'll find the secret to the Dark Hour," Minato said, turning away and walking towards the teleporter to go back to the base floor.


	23. Chapter 23

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 23: Return_

* * *

><p>It wasn't every day that he went outside of the dorm. At least during the day time. But he found himself doing just that. He really had no idea what he was doing. He preferred the night so that no one would see him.<p>

Turning to the left, he started heading down the way that led to the shrine. He remembered Aigis saying something about meeting a little boy there that wanted to pray to his dead parents at this shrine. He felt a sort of sympathy towards the boy, and decided to see if he was going to be there again.

"Whoa, what the heck are you doing out here, Minazuki!? If you step in the sun, don't you burn or something?" Minako asked, walking up behind Minazuki. He sighed, hoping that he wasn't going to run into the girl today, and turned around.

"No, Minako, I am not a vampire. That is completely absurd and quite rude to boot," Minazuki said.

"Gee, sorry I hurt your feelings Minazuki. Is there a sensitive guy under that cold mask after all!?" Minako asked jokingly, grabbing at the red head's face and pulling it in an attempt to "get the mask off".

Minazuki swatted her hand away and glared intensely at her. "Stop."

"God, you're so mad all the time... you need to lighten up a little bit, Minazuki-kun!" Minako smiled, grabbing the boy's face, much to his anger, and started making faces with it.

"I don't need to lighten up, girl," Minazuki said lowly. "I'm heading to somewhere. I want to be alone. Is that too much to ask?"

"Sure, Minazuki-kun... but remember that you eventually do have to talk to us," Minako warned with a large smile on her face. She left him to himself, which he was very grateful for. Minazuki continued on his way to the shrine, thinking about what she said to him.

_"You'll have to talk to us eventually."_

Just what was she insinuating with that? That he would have to talk about how he was tortured by Ikutsuki? What was there to talk about other than that? He really had no idea what she meant by that, and he supposed that he never would. All that mattered to him was living life. Maybe she was talking about the fact that he never took part in conversations while they were huddled together speaking about the little things that they did that day. He did take part in conversations regarding serious business like the Dark Hour and Tartarus, but other than that, he was basically silent for the most part. He could appreciate someone like Shinjiro, however.

It was Sho that was the loudmouth, and wanted to speak with everyone and make jokes about everything. He hated to admit that even he sometimes laughed at Sho's cringe-worthy puns. But then again, he _was_ Sho in a way.

Eventually he reached the shrine, and walked into it with a pleasant look on his face. It was quite a nice shrine, he had to say. While Sho was speaking with Aigis one day, he took note of how much she prayed here, hoping that every journey that they had into Tartarus was going to be a safe one. They had fallen behind since the Reaper attacked them the last time they went in, so they would have to do some double work the next time. He remembered what Minato said about what he learned about the Dark Hour just from that fight.

That the answers that they needed were at the top of the hellish tower. And even he didn't know how high up that thing was. From the looks of it, they were only just about halfway through!

He noticed that a little boy was at the shrine, praying. Minazuki walked up to the boy and waited for him to finish. "What are you doing here?"

The boy almost jumped at the sudden noise, and turned around to see Minazuki staring down at him rather harshly.

"Oh... I'm sorry if I was in your way," the boy said.

"This is the first time that I've actually seriously been around town. I'm Sho Minazuki, but you can call me Minazuki," Minazuki introduced himself, holding his hand out for the boy. The boy took it and shook it, giving Minazuki a large smile.

"Well I'm Ken, Ken Amada. Nice to meet you!" Ken nodded.

"Tell me Ken, why are you at the shrine?" Minazuki asked.

"Well, I lost my parents to some sort of monster... I know that you're not going to believe me," Ken said.

"Monster's huh? I know of a monster," Minazuki said, thinking about one Shuji Ikutsuki. He was still concerned with the fact that the bastard was out and on the loose, but he figured that there really was nothing that he could do to stop SEES, not if he couldn't handle Minazuki himself alone.

"Really, you do!? I want to hunt down that monster and get revenge on it for killing my parents!" Ken said. "Where is it!?"

"...Revenge?" Minazuki repeated, his hair falling down in front of his face, obscuring his eyes. Everything fell silent around Ken, and he didn't know what was happening. The sudden change in mood to make the otherwise cool person that he came across sullen instead unnerved him a little bit.

"Yeah," Ken nodded.

"Don't waste your time, Amada. The concept of revenge is appealing to anyone. The fact that you can deliver judgement to someone attracts many people. However, once you to that, what will you feel inside? Empty," Minazuki stated.

"Oh, you're just like that Aigis girl from the other day! I don't need to listen to you two! She probably sent you here anyway! You're all a bunch of stupid grown ups who think that you could do anything that you want to to me!" Ken yelled, running past Minazuki, leaving him to stare at the shrine itself.

"Well well well... what a rude boy," Minazuki stated before walking back to the dorm.

* * *

><p>He sat down, an annoyed look on his face. Sho was thinking about what that annoying twin of the only guy that could begin to understand him said. Well, he couldn't disregard Aigis, the girl who he thought of as a sister either.<p>

Sho scowled. Why should he even mention what that bastard did to him? He knew what the girl was trying to tell him. She wanted to know his story. He wasn't about to tell her.

"Yo, you alright Sho?" asked Minato, a concerned look on his face. Sho was pretty happy that Minato was the first one to speak up. His voice was calm and cool, something that would help the headache he was slowly getting.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Your sister was just trying to get into my business and it was annoying me," the boy explained.

"Yeah, she's pretty freakin' annoying when it comes to something that she wants to know. Wouldn't stop bugging me about what me and Ai did... and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, considering she told me everyone was out the door, listening in," Minato said.

"Haha, yeah, I remember that! You really put that flash drive into her USB port, didn't ya!? Get it, cause she used to be a robot!?" Sho started laughing hysterically.

Soon enough Minato joined him in his laughter. "Goddamn, Sho! Where do you keep getting this stuff!?"

Suddenly, Sho stopped laughing. Minato took note of that immediately, and regretted what he said.

"Dad," was Sho's simple response.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Sho," Minato said.

"Aw don't let it bother ya! You didn't know, so..." Sho waved a hand at him.

"But still... I know that it's a touchy subject with you and I didn't want you to be reminded of anything..." Minato said.

"Like I said, don't worry about it. You and Toaster are pretty cool with that kind of stuff," Sho said.

"Who's Toaster?" Minato rose an eyebrow.

"Haha! I'm talkin' about Ai-chan! Remember, she used to be a robot, right? So I call her Toaster now!" Sho laughed. Soon enough, Minato started to laugh along with him. He did find it to be quite funny.

Sho suddenly felt intense pain shoot through the top of his head and all throughout his body. He looked up, rubbing the spot where he was hit to see Aigis glaring at him with an angry expression on her face.

"How many times do I gotta tell you, I'm not a toaster!" Aigis yelled.

"Haha! Calm down, it's just a joke!" Sho laughed some more.

"Well, at least it isn't what you called Labrys..." said Aigis, sitting down next to Minato. "Well, I just came down here to ask you about what you think our priority should be right now," she asked, turning to Minato.

"About the Dark Hour? Shouldn't you be the one worrying about that? You're the one who's the leader after all. But if you want my opinion of it, I'd say that the best thing that we can do right now is climb up the tower. When I fought with that Reaper I realized that maybe as we go up the Shadows are getting stronger and stronger because they're protecting something. And that something has to be at the very top of Tartarus," Minato said.

"Alright, then that's what we're going to do from now on. We'll just try to get as high as we possibly can in Tartarus," Aigis said.

"That's just what we're gonna have to do, then," Minato shrugged, reaching for the remote on the table to turn on the TV. He sat back and relaxed on the couch as a news program started up.

And sure enough, it was another news report about the Lost.

"Oh, just what we need, more about them!" Minato yelled, almost throwing the remote at the TV. He tossed it over to Sho, silently wondering if he wanted to watch anything on the television.

"You know, I'm kind of worried about Ikutsuki and what he's doing," Aigis said.

"Aren't we all? But I'm not gonna let that old bastard bother me. He's going down," Sho said.

* * *

><p>"And so what do we do, Fuuka?" Shinjiro asked, looking at the frightened looking girl. Fuuka stared back at Shinjiro with wide eyes. The rather tall man was in something that did not fit his character at all. He was wearing a completely clean apron, along with a chef's hat. She didn't know where the hell he got those two things from, but it was better than nothing.<p>

Shinjiro looked like a real, actual cook with that stuff on. Maybe he was getting determined to save her from her bad cooking habits. The last time that he tried to eat something that she made, he had told her flat out that "it was horrible, and needed lots of work". At least he offered to teach her...

"We... keep watch of the oven to see if the cake is done or not, and try to not burn it..." Fuuka repeated.

"Good," Shinjiro nodded his head in approval, and took a look into the oven to see if the cake that they were making was done or not.

"Ummm, Shinjiro-senpai, why are you teaching me how to cook? I'm horrible at it, and you're so good with it..." Fuuka suddenly asked, catching Shinjiro off guard.

He started to think about it for a moment. Why was he teaching her how to cook? He was a perfectly good one and he had been making all the meals for SEES since his return. "Because I wanna pass something off to someone, and since you've shown an interest in cooking I thought that I could show you."

That was the best answer that he could come up with. He just hoped that she accepted it. After an agonizingly long minute, Fuuka smiled at him and nodded.

"Thank you for taking the time to teach me, Shinjiro-senpai!" she yelled suddenly, donning a big smile.

Shinjiro only smiled at her in return. He was glad for two things. The fact she took the lie, and the fact that she was happy he was helping her. Suddenly, he felt the bottle of pills in his coat pocket. It seemed like they were getting heavier and heavier everyday. _That _day was coming up soon.

* * *

><p>Something felt a little bit odd to Aigis. She was really drowsy, not wanting to wake up, sleeping in the nude like she always did, but it felt like something was... different. Did she sleep with Minato again? No, she couldn't have. She'd be latched onto him if she did.<p>

She groaned rather loudly. She didn't want to wake up yet! It was a Sunday! Aigis turned to her clock to see what time it was. Aigis groaned one more time seeing that it was only five in the morning.

"You sound so lovely today," a voice told her, making her snap up from the bed. It sounded oddly like Minato's, but he never talked with that kind of tone in his voice. "The window."

Aigis turned her head and saw a black haired boy sitting in her windowsil, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He wore a white shirt with black pants, and there was a very long, yellow scarf around his neck.

Aigis gasped.

It couldn't be... "Ryoji..."


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 24: Ryoji Mochizuki...?_

* * *

><p>Minato knew that when he didn't see Aigis coming down the steps immediately, something was off. Minato couldn't begin to think of the things that were going on in her room, but he knew that she always came down at six in the morning, and never slept in once in her life. She was the most punctual person he knew, and her not coming down was something that he should worry about.<p>

The blue haired boy decided that he would go up and check on his girlfriend, but before he did, he felt someone grab him by the wrist.

"Where the heck are you going, Minato-kun? Don't you remember that Junpei is taking me and you out to the movies?" Yukari asked. Minato groaned silently, remembering how Junpei had wanted Minato to play third wheel for him. He was a bit annoyed at the fact that he was being dragged out at this time of the day, but then again, a movie was a movie, and it was one that he liked too, so he would have to check up on Aigis later.

He was sure that whatever she was doing, she was fine.

* * *

><p>"Why the fuck are you here!? What did we do wrong!? How are you out of Minato!?" Aigis yelled, asking questions a mile a minute, advancing on the figure in her windowsill.<p>

"Whoa! Who taught you that kind of language, Ai-chan? Junpei?" Ryoji asked, still staring at Aigis without a bit of fear in his eyes. Aigis quickly threw on some clothes so that she didn't have to hold her bed sheets in front of her, and turned back to Ryoji.

"I asked you a question, Ryoji. Why are you here?" Aigis asked again, a dangerous tone in her voice.

"Ease up, Aigis!" Ryoji commanded. Aigis didn't listen to him for one second, grabbing the boy by the scarf, pulling him down, and slamming him against the wall of her room.

"No," Aigis replied.

"Aigis, please, you're choking me!" Ryoji cried out. Aigis only eased up a little bit to allow him to breathe, but otherwise he was still pinned to the wall.

"Alright, fine... You didn't do anything wrong; the seal hasn't been broken. I'm not Death, but rather a part of Minato," the boy explained.

"What? Wait, is this like how Metis was a part of me?" Aigis asked.

"Yes. While I'm not Death itself, I'm just something that was created from his consciousness. Kind of like how Metis was created from yours," Ryoji explained.

"Metis was created because there was something that I had to accept, and that was the loss of Minato," Aigis said. "So what are you here for?"

"Well I can't tell you that, because that would ruin the whole purpose of me being there for Minato. There's something that he is yet to realize, about his power," Ryoji said. "Something that he hasn't realized to this day. He knows that he has to work together with everyone to stop the Dark Hour, but... does he really realize what that trust is? That's what I have to help him realize, because without him realizing that, he will never live through the challenges that are about to come your way."

"...I see," Aigis nodded. "Well, you had better get to work."

"Damn, you are one vicious girl when it comes to Minato! Then again, I really wouldn't be surprised, because you defend that boy with your life. Minato is really lucky to know someone like you, and be madly in love with that same person as well," Ryoji nodded. "Thank you for being there for him, Aigis."

"Will you be fighting alongside SEES?" Aigis asked.

"That's what I plan to do, yes," Ryoji said.

"Ryoji-kun, do you know where Metis is?" Aigis asked.

"She's back where she belongs, your mind," Ryoji said. "And when this is all said and done, I will return to Minato's mind as well."

"I get it now... you will be guiding Minato through until he finds out his "answer", his meaning to life, just like Metis did... I wish that I would be able to talk to her again... I really enjoyed my time with her, even if she was just me," Aigis said.

"Sometimes you never really know how good something was until it's gone. But isn't it better to live happily with the memories of that event, rather than plainly rejecting it?" Ryoji asked, walking out of Aigis's room.

Aigis stared at the spot that the boy was in with a surprised look on her face. Did he just take a jab at her?

* * *

><p>"So... let me get this straight. You're a part of me, and you'll be here to help us out?" Minato said, an incredulous look on his face. Aigis found it to be rather cute.<p>

"Yes," Ryoji replied, a blank expression on his face. He was sitting down next to Aigis, shooting her a flirtatious look every few seconds. Even if he was a part of Minato, and not Ryoji himself, the boy surely acted just like him, Aigis thought.

It was funny, really. She kind of figured out why Ryoji was always so interested in her. It was Minato's doing. His affection towards her also affected Ryoji, and what Aigis saw as just him being perverted, it was just an innocent puppy love for her.

"Ryoji Mochizuki, you said that your name was? Earlier while you were explaining you mentioned someone named Metis... do you know who this person is?" Mitsuru asked.

"That's... well, you could say that it was my sister. However, she too was an aspect of my mind, just like Ryoji-kun here is an aspect of Minato's. She helped me realize something in my life, and then just disappeared," explained Aigis.

"I see," Mitsuru said. "Well... we will have to prepare an armband and an evoker for you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mitsuru-san," Ryoji said.

"So, can we go back to the part where you said that something bad is going to be coming up soon?" Akihiko asked, raising a hand up.

"Sure, why?" Ryoji asked. "I told you all that you really needed to know about it, right? That Strega's going to be involved?"

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we're all concerned about what's going to happen. Do you have any idea when or how this supposed bad thing is going to happen?" Akihiko asked.

"I'm betting something will happen within a few more full moons. My best bet is the one after this one," Ryoji said. "You will all have to be careful. But don't worry, I will be there for you all to protect you, even if I can't do much. It's better than nothing, right? Just as a heads up though... it's going to be huge."

"I wanna go for a walk," Aigis said, standing up and walking towards the door. It was getting pretty late, but everyone knew that Aigis was usually clearing her mind when she went for late night walks. She would come back before the Dark Hour anyway, and she knew how to protect herself, so she would be fine.

"So now we have another member of SEES... our team is growing quite nicely," Mitsuru commented, shutting her eyes and smiling in amusement.

"Yeah, princess... seems like yesterday that it was the just the three of us. You, me, and Aki..." said Shinjiro. Mitsuru's brows furrowed at the mention of the old nickname that Shinjiro used to call her, but she agreed with him.

* * *

><p>"Ah, welcome back to the Velvet Room. How may I help you?" Igor asked, staring at Aigis as she appeared inside of the all blue room. The elevator seemed to be going at a much faster pace than usual. Elizabeth smiled at Aigis as she sat down at the chair and stared at the old man on the other side of the table.<p>

"Igor-san, I have a question for you," Aigis said.

"What do you need, Aigis, my dear?" Igor asked.

"Is Nyx related to what's going on at all? Even Erebus?" Aigis asked. "Because from what I've just heard from the part of Minato's mind that appeared just this morning, something big's about to happen. I want to know what's going on, is all."

"No, not Nyx, or Erebus. Remember, you don't need to worry about them anymore. What you need to worry about is the one that you fought before you came back to this past," Igor said.

"You can't be talking about..." Aigis began.

"Yes. Hi-no-Kagutsuchi," Igor said. "It seems to be acting up one more time. And with Minato starting to get unsure of himself again, Ryoji was... needed to set him back on the right track. He has to realize something important to him, so that he may be able to stand up to the challenges that await him and accept the burden of the Universe Arcana."

Hi-no-Kagutsuchi... that name still haunted Aigis to this day. That name belonged to the _true_ mastermind behind the hi-jacking of Labrys. He wanted to use her as a tool to make so many Shadows appear that it would be able to fuel something sinister. Aigis had no idea what, and thankfully she never got to find out. He was going to use Labrys to destroy all the Shadows and make whatever he was planning to make appear so that the world would be destroyed. But when she and her friends ruined his plans, he moved onto something else. Sho Minazuki, the tortured boy with the Plume of Dusk stuck within him. He used Sho under the guise of helping him out and fulfilling his wish to live alone where no one would bother him to start the P-1 Climax, an event that was much like the one that involved Labrys. He created Shadows that were based off of the negative emotions of the members of both the Shadow Operatives and the Investigation Team. They had brought back some harsh reminders of themselves that they had wanted to forget, and they had no choice but to face themselves again. However, that was just what Kagutsuchi wanted, as fragments of their Personas would "carve off" and aide in creating the means to destroy the world.

"You never come here without a reason, Aigis. What is it that you desire? Name it, and I will do my best to aide you," Igor said.

"...Metis. Where is she?" Aigis asked.

"Metis!? Why, I haven't heard her name in quite some time! What could you possibly want from her? You know she was there only to guide you and make you realize that you needed to move on from things," Igor said.

"Yes, but since Minato's having his psyche come to help him, I want mine! I think it's only fair, right Igor-san?" Aigis asked, donning a cute smile. Igor knew the girl well enough to see the threat buried underneath of it.

"You just want someone to call you sister again, isn't it?" Igor stated, standing up from his chair and walking towards one of the doors that were scattered across the walls.

Aigis nodded gravely. It had been so long since she had someone to call a family member. It has almost been a year since she last heard the word "sister" used when referring to her. She couldn't believe how fast the months flew by when she revealed that she was from the future to Minato. It was like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she didn't have a worry in the world. But she was still feeling a little bit empty inside. It wasn't hard to figure out that the one thing that she missed was the fact that she had a sister.

She was ecstatic when she found out that Labrys was a sister to her, and one that would probably be there to stay, too! Metis was a nice breath of fresh air, but she had figured out along the way that Metis really wasn't her sister, but rather a part of herself. She had eventually started to do some of the things that Aigis did, and she shared strikingly similar features to her. And it was impossible for them to be twins, too. And there were no replica Shadow Weapons, either. She was the only Gen 7 left, and Metis claiming to be a Gen 7 had set off some warning signs in her. Quite literally, too.

"Metis!" Igor's voice called, his head inside of one of the doors.

"What, old man!?" a voice called back.

"You're being called!" Igor replied, walking back to his chair and sitting down. Immediately, a blur of black rushed from the door and immediately stopped, revealing Metis.

"Who's there?" Metis asked, looking around. Aigis smiled at the sight and put her hands on her hips, waiting for the black haired girl to notice her. Metis changed a bit since Aigis had last seen her, but that was only natural right? Because Aigis changed, Metis changed as well, as Aigis thought. The other girl had that same long, black hair, but she didn't have that helmet contraption on her head anymore. Maybe she too changed from a robot, since Aigis wasn't one anymore either, and Metis was a part of her mind.

"Sister!" The girl cried out, jumping on Aigis and trapping her in a bear hug. Aigis struggled in the other's grasp, smiling all the while.

"Metis, it's so good to see you again! You've changed quite a bit since I've last seen you!" Aigis noted.

"Well, I change as you change, sister! I'm a human now!" Metis smiled, pointing at her pale white arm. Aigis smiled at her counterpart in response.

"Metis, I know that you probably don't want to be dragged into something like this again, but something big is about to happen, and I fell that you could help us out," Aigis said.

"Anything to help you out," Metis said.

"Alright, then let's get back to the dorm," Aigis said. The two left the Velvet Room, but not before Metis ran back to the room that she was staying in to grab the golden axe that Aigis handed her during the whole Abyss of Time fiasco.

* * *

><p>Aigis knew that something was up, and Metis was beginning to feel it too. It felt like someone was there, watching them... Aigis turned around to her left, feeling that whoever was watching them was over there somewhere.<p>

"Sister, what do you think is going on?" Metis asked.

"Someone's watching us..." Aigis said flatly, holding her arm in front of Metis to prevent her from going forward. She didn't want her to rush in recklessly and die. Whatever this was, it was sinister.

"Show yourself!" Aigis yelled, just as the Dark Hour began. The timing couldn't have been better. Aigis gasped at who walked out from behind the alleyway.

With a sinister smirk on his face and golden yellow eyes, Ken Amada emerged from the alleyway, holding a long lance that looked to be about twice his body size.

"Is that, Ken-kun?" Metis asked.

"Ah, it's the _grown up_ from before. Here to tell me what I can and can't do again? Well, that's too bad. Because now... _I'm a grown up too,_" Ken said, his voice distorted, as though someone was talking along with him.

"A Shadow!?" Metis asked, taking an offensive stance with her axe.

"No... it seems like he's been possessed by one. Either way... it doesn't look like we're going to get out of here without a fight. Hope you're not rusty, Metis," Aigis said, staring the boy down. "If only there was a way that we could call the others..."

"I hope you're ready, because I'm going to show you just how little you matter!" Ken screeched, charging towards the two girls.


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 25: The True Self  
><em>

* * *

><p>Aigis stared at the Shadow that was standing in front of them, with that cocky smirk on his face. She couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't think that these kinds of Shadows would be appearing <em>now<em> of all times!

Metis shivered at the power emanating from the Shadow, covering it in a purple aura. "Sister... this doesn't seem like a normal Shadow," she said.

Ken smirked, floating up in the air with his lance in tow. "What are you two gawking at? Don't get in my way! I'm going to kill that bastard!"

"Ken, this isn't you! Please, snap out of this!" Aigis yelled, a hurt look on her face. She never got a chance to encounter Ken's Shadow while the P-1 Climax was going on, but seeing it now told her that maybe she didn't want to see it.

Ken laughed as hard as his little body could, holding a hand to his head. "What makes you say that I'm Ken!? Well, I guess that I could be him now, but I'm sure that I remember before I killed him that he told me we weren't the same person!"

Aigis was taken aback by what the Shadow before them just said, her eyes widening. This Shadow... just killed a ten year old child!? "You killed him and took his place!?"

"Well well well, you're not so slow after all," Shadow Ken said. "Yeah, I'm sure you know what happens when you confront your own Shadow and deny everything that they're saying to you."

Metis gave her sister a confused look while still keeping an eye on the Shadow in front of them. "I don't get it sister, what does he mean?"

"...It means that since Ken refused to accept what his Shadow was telling him was the truth, and he told him that his Shadow was not him, the Shadow went on a rampage and killed Ken-kun..." Aigis explained.

"But, Ken was just a young kid!" Metis objected. "How could you do such a thing!? she shot an angered look at the Ken that was floating in front of them now.

Shadow Ken gave a nonchalant shrug. "He was weak. He was doubting himself after what you and that other guy said about revenge to him. So I came and had to give him a little push. Unfortunately, that push was too strong, and look at where he is now..."

Aigis clenched her fists and looked down to the ground. "Where did you put the body." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Shadow Ken laughed in response. "Why are you so concerned about that loser's body!? It's right here in front of you! What do you think happens when your Shadow takes over your body after you don't accept them?"

Ken moved his body to the side just in time to avoid getting a bullet right through his heart. He glared at Aigis before raising his lance and dashing towards her in the air, holding the lance out in an attempt to pierce her heart with it.

Metis wasn't going to have any of that, however, and swung her axe, slamming it into Ken's body. The boy yelled out in pain before falling out of the air, blood splattering on the floor.

Aigis looked appalled at what Metis just did, turning to her and yelling, "Are you insane!?"

Metis looked at her sister with an incredulous look on her face. "Did you hear what that Shadow said? It's not even Ken anymore. It's just a monster. I know how you feel about it looking like a little boy and all, but the fact is that it's nothing but a Shadow, so we have to exterminate it right? It's what we do."

"I know, but... it's still Ken... deep down in there, right?" Aigis asked.

Metis didn't get a chance to respond as Ken rushed them one more time. Aigis hopped over a sweep at her feet and punched the boy in retaliation. She just couldn't bring herself to use weapons on the boy, unlike her sister, who was all for it.

The truth was, Aigis knew Ken much more than Metis, and she knew that while his intentions weren't the best... he had a pure heart. He was only in it to get payback for his mother, and to Aigis, that was a noble cause. But he didn't have to go and try to kill Shinjiro, either.

And now the boy was dead. Killed by the Shadow that was before them right now.

"I won't forgive you for what you've done to Ken... he was just a little boy! And now look at what you've done to him! I guess it just doesn't matter to you, does it? Because you're a Shadow," Aigis asked.

Shadow Ken's smirk returned. "Now that's just plain old rude, you know? I have feelings too you know."

Aigis screamed in anger as she ran towards Ken this time with a fist pulled back. The Shadow dodged the punches that she threw at him and started to laugh.

"You're pretty slow," he stated cockily. "Come on, you've got two weapons that you could use to kill me right here and now, why don't you use them?"

Aigis stared down at the ground in shame. Of course she knew that she had two very dangerous weapons on her right now, but... this was still Ken! She couldn't even dream of hurting him!

"...You're doing that thing again, aren't you!? All you grown ups are the same! You're thinking of me as a child again, huh? That I need protection, that I can't protect myself? You're pathetic. And that underestimation of yours is going to get yourself killed. Quite literally," Ken said, a dangerous tone laced in his voice.

"Sister, get out of there!" yelled Metis, seeing a small card float down to Ken's hand. The Shadow crushed it, and some kind of orange figure appeared behind him. Aigis's eyes widened as she realized what was going to happen. If she remembered right, Ken's Persona, Kala-nemi, was good with both light and electric attacks, and it could also heal.

"Athena!" Aigis cried out, frantically summoning her Persona. Athena rose its shield above Aigis's head, covering her from the thunderbolt that shot down from the sky. Ken scowled at Aigis, and started to walk towards her.

"No you don't!" Metis yelled, running towards Ken and swinging her axe at him. The cocky smirk that had been on Ken's face for their entire time together returned, and he blocked the blow with the blunt part of his lance.

"Try harder," he taunted. Metis decided that it was time to get serious and summon her Persona. She took a leap backwards with a confident look on her face.

"Psyche!"

A block of ice shot out of the ground underneath of Ken's feet. The Shadow screamed in pain as the ice surrounded his feet, freezing him in place.

Aigis got a good idea seeing the Shadow stuck there like that. He would never be able to avoid this next attack.

She jumped on top of her Persona, and Athena charged forward at a blinding pace. Ken's eyes widened as the Persona collided with him, shattering the already stinging ice at his feet, sending shards into his legs. Ken flew forward, into Be Blue V.

Metis noticed the look on Aigis's face and sighed. "Sister, please. It's just a Shadow, not Ken... I know that it looks like him, but it's just not!"

"It's really fucking hard Metis!" snapped Aigis. "You're so heartless sometimes, Metis!"

"Well... that's what they call you right? The Heartless Armed Angel?" asked Metis.

"I-I don't believe you!" Aigis huffed.

Just then, Ken emerged from the building with an amused look on his face. "Maybe I really don't need to fight you, you guys can just go at it yourself!"

"Oh shut up! Sure we bicker but we're sisters! What else are we supposed to do!?" Metis asked, summoning Psyche again. Ken jumped into the air, expecting the same thing to happen.

"That trick won't work on me-" Ken was cut off by the two sisters smirking.

"Idiot."

"Idiot."

Ken was blasted away by a severe gust of wind, getting sent into the fountain at the center of the mall. They could hear tons of profanities being spit out from Ken's mouth as he got up and dried himself off, spitting out some blood from his mouth.

He had a look of pure rage on his face. He couldn't believe that he was being bested like this, and by adults nonetheless!

"I'll show you... I'll show you all! That I can take care of myself! I'll destroy all of you!" Ken screamed, smashing the card that floated down to his hands again, summoning Kala-nemi. The Persona swung its entire body around, and then all of a sudden, multiple bolts of lightning rained down from the sky.

"Oh shit... I think he's mad," Metis's eyes widened as she attempted to get out of the way of the lightning. She weaved through the bolts, hoping that they would stop soon. She looked over to Aigis to see that she was doing the same thing.

Then, her eyes widened.

A bolt of lightning shot down right onto Aigis, electrocuting her with great force. Aigis screamed in pain as she fell to the floor. Ken started to laugh maniacally. "That's what you get for underestimating my powers, _grown up_!"

"SISTER!" Metis screamed, running for Aigis. She didn't care about the other lightning bolts. All that she cared about now was getting to Aigis and seeing if she was okay or not. She hoped to every god that she knew that she was alright.

* * *

><p>"Something's wrong," Minato stated.<p>

Everyone was gathered around in the lounge area of the dorm. They were waiting around for Aigis to get back from her walk, but they knew that something was wrong when the Dark Hour began and Aigis wasn't there.

"You feel it too? That short thunderstorm just now..." Mitsuru said slowly.

Yukari stood up. "What are we waiting for? If you think Aigis is in trouble then let's go and save her!"

"Yeah!" Junpei yelled, standing up along with her. Minato was the first one out the door, not even bothering to put on his SEES armband. No one dared to stop him. They knew that when something was going on with Aigis, Minato was the first one on the scene.

"Here, Mochizuki, take his armband for yourself. I guess we'll be seeing just how good you are," Mitsuru said, walking out the door.

"Fuuka, scan for Aigis's location," Akihiko commanded. Fuuka nodded and summoned her Persona, scanning the area for Aigis.

Junpei stared at Fuuka expectantly. He thought of Aigis as little sister, and he wouldn't stand for anything bad happening to her.

"...She's at the mall..." Fuuka said gravely.

Junpei was the first to react. "Well what does that mean!? Why are you saying it like _that_!?"

"Junpei... If we don't get there soon..." Fuuka began.

"No," Yukari shook her head. "NO! DON'T SAY THAT!"

"She's... going to die."

* * *

><p>All she heard was laughing. Other than that, it was completely and utterly silent. Metis looked at the seemingly lifeless body of Aigis. She knew in her heart that Aigis couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. There was no way.<p>

He kept on laughing. Laughing, laughing, laughing. He was rolling on the ground holding his sides as he laughed. He was taunting her. She knew it.

"I'm gonna..." Metis began, turning to face Ken. Ken stopped laughing, and a dead silence set in. His eyes met with Metis's. "_Rip you to shreds."_

"Aw, what's wrong? Did I strike a nerve?" Ken asked. "Are you really that sad over the death of that girl? You don't need to worry. If she died, then she wasn't really that important."

"Not important...? What do you mean not important? My sister is the most important thing in my life, and you're just gonna tell me that she's not important! You have no idea how wrong you are! You try and talk like you're a grown up, but in reality, you're nothing but an immature brat! I don't care what Aigis thinks, you're a monster, and you're gonna get treated as such!" Metis threatened.

"Oh, you're gonna kill me, right? When you needed the help of that blonde girl over there to fight with me?" Ken smirked.

Metis froze. Ken had a point. She did need her sister to fight against Ken. Without her, she was nearly nothing. Sure, she was strong, and sure, she was able to fend things off on her own, but Aigis completed most of their power. They were two sides of the same coin. Without Aigis, she didn't know what she could do.

Ken smirked. "Hahaha... that look on your face... it's realization kicking in. You, realizing that you can't do anything to stop me now! You've wasted enough of my time. I'm going to go and find that Shinjiro bastard and kill him. But first... you have to die, as well."

His hand rose up into the air to catch the card that he used for his Persona and began to crush it with his hands.

Metis shut her eyes, expecting Ken to end her right now.

"Persona!"

Her eyes shot open. That voice wasn't Ken's.

A blast of fire erupted at Ken's hand, effectively burning it pretty bad. Ken howled in rage as he gripped his hand, the card disappearing in the air.

"Right on the mark Hermes, alright!" a voice cheered. Metis looked up to see an entire gang of people walking up to the mall. Some of their faces she recognized, but some of the others, she had no idea who they were.

Before she could even realize it, she was surrounded by those same people.

"Hey, are you alright?" a voice asked, tapping her shoulder. She looked up to see a boy smiling down at her. She instantly recognized the face.

"Yeah, I'm fine... thank you," Junpei helped Metis up.

He looked up at what exactly he had just hit, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. "Ken-kun!? What happened to him!?"

Metis shook her head. "That's not Ken... well, it is, but it's not the one that you know. His Shadow took over his body... and ever since my sister has picked me up, we've been fighting it... and... my sister... she... Aigis!" Tears started flowing out of Metis's eyes. Junpei looked surprised at the sight. She had clung to Junpei for support, and out of instinct, he started patting her back.

Minato on the other hand, was not smiling. He looked around for Aigis. She was nowhere to be found. "Where is Aigis?"

Junpei looked at Metis with a concerned expression on his face. "Hey, you said that Aigis was your sister? Do you know where she is? And how do you know about Shadows? We've never seen you around before."

Metis calmed down enough for her to speak. "Sh-She's over by the stairs to Mandragora... I'll tell you all about me later, after we beat that thing!"

Minato heard Metis, and ran over to Mandragora. He looked around for Aigis, scouring the entire place. When he finally found her, his spirits were instantly crushed. She had her eyes shut, and it didn't seem like she was breathing.

"No," Minato shook his head, picking Aigis's head from the ground. "No, you can't be..."

Everyone turned around when they heard sobbing coming from Minato's direction. Tears were flowing down Minato's eyes as he held Aigis close to him.

He threw his head back. "AIIIGIIIIS!"


	26. Chapter 26

**Two months... it's been two months since I made this fanfiction, and to my utter surprise, it's still going on! I'm happy that so many people are reading this. 30+ favorites and 50+ followers, and I hope that the list just keeps on growing and growing!  
><strong>

**I'm sorry for rambling, I just had to get that out. Once again, I don't own Persona, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

_Chapter 26: Rage Awakened_

* * *

><p>Darkness practically imprisoned her.<p>

She felt like she was in that nightmare again, that one nightmare that always ended with her waking up in tears. She thought that she could see him before her, facing her. He had an amused look on his face.

"Minato-kun..." she stood up and dusted herself off. What even happened? She couldn't tell. Did she even want to know what happened?

"What are you even here for if you can't even do what you were programed to do?" a voice asked her.

Aigis turned around, looking for the source of the voice. Who had said that to her? The voice sounded eerily like hers, but... she didn't see anyone else anywhere. She looked back to Minato, only to find that he was replaced by a blonde girl with yellow eyes. She looked human up to her head, but the rest of her body was a pearly white. Mechanical. Her joints showed at her shoulders and hips.

Aigis would be lying if she said that she didn't know what this was.

"I'm not programed to do anything," Aigis said.

"Well... you were, at first. But then you got _lucky_, and you became a human," the other her said. "Why don't you embrace your inner desires? Why don't you go and do what you've wanted to for so long?"

"Because... that's just wrong..." Aigis said, thinking about what the other her was talking about. "I'm not letting you tell me what to do anymore, Shadow Me. I am you, and you are me!"

She expected those magic words to dispel the Shadow in front of her. But that wish never came true.

"You think it's that easy?" Shadow Aigis asked with a bemused expression on her face. The Shadow reached back and punched Aigis in the face, sending her to the floor. Aigis rubbed her cheek as she stared up at her Shadow.

"You know, I realized something while watching you. You're never going to do anything right, the way that I want you to. I guess that just means that I'm going to have to do it for you. Come here..." Shadow Aigis got down on her knees and crawled up so that she could meet Aigis's face. A lustful look appeared in her eyes as she stared down at herself.

"What are you going to do...?" Aigis asked.

Shadow Aigis didn't respond in words, rather, licking her lips in anticipation. Aigis couldn't help but feel that this was very unnerving. She had no idea what her Shadow was going to do, but she knew that she wasn't going to like it.

"Look at this body of yours... I'm jealous..." Shadow Aigis said. "I'd never be able to get something like this. I bet Minato stares at you all day... why wouldn't he? You're so small... frail... weak... Why, I bet that I could hurt you just by a simple squeeze of my hand..." With every word that Shadow Aigis uttered, her robotic hands explored Aigis's body.

Aigis screamed.

* * *

><p>Aigis screamed.<p>

Minato snapped his head to Aigis, looking at the girl contorting in pain. What was going on with her!? Was everything alright?

"Aigis! Aigis, can you hear me!? Answer me! Are you alright!?" Minato yelled desperately.

Suddenly, an insidious dark aura swallowed Aigis up. Minato had no idea what was going on. He backed away from the girl, putting her down gently. He didn't know what that aura was doing to her, but it didn't seem like it was anything good.

"Why are you ignoring me!?" Shadow Ken yelled, trying once more to get to Minato, but Junpei and the others were there to block his way.

"You hurt my brother's girlfriend... I'm gonna fucking kill you," Minako said, Orpheus blocking Ken's lance.

"That's what the other girl said before I injured her too..." Ken said. His eyes glanced over all the members of SEES that had came, and they stopped when the fell on Shinjiro. "SHINJIRO ARAGAKI! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!"

With a confused look, Shinjiro pointed at himself. "Me? Heh, get over yourself kid. I'm not wasting my time on you. You've gotten overcome by your own hatred. That's pathetic."

Ken scowled. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"

"I do. How do you think it feels when you lose your family, and then your orphanage burns down while you stare, helpless, hoping that your best friend's sister makes it out alive? I don't think you know what's happened to me, either," Shinjiro said.

"I'M FINALLY FREE, BABY!" a twisted, sickening voice cried out. Everyone turned their heads toward Mandragora to see Aigis standing up, yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. She stepped forward, revealing a robotic body.

"Aigis?" Minato reached out to the blonde. He didn't get a response. Shadow Aigis blasted from the stairs towards Ken, the young boy's eyes widening.

"You thought that you could actually keep me down? Just a one and done deal?" Ken felt cold, metal hands grasp his sides, and he was catapulted towards the ground.

An intense pain shot through his body as a cylindrical foot slammed into his stomach.

"You're such a fucking retard! I can't believe that Aigis was actually having trouble! You break too easy!" Shadow Aigis cried out with sick and twisted glee.

"What the hell happened to my Aigis?" asked Minato, a scared expression on his face.

"But then again I would have to thank my jailers! Kirijo Mitsuru... after I'm done with this little shit I'm coming for you! You trapped this soul into this hideous body... I'll return the favor by locking you in a coffin! Ahahaha!" Shadow Aigis threw her head back and laughed.

"Am I the only one who thinks a crazy, sadistic Aigis is pretty hot?" Junpei asked, trying to break the dark mood. Yukari punched his shoulder and turned to face Aigis.

Minato looked into her eyes, and found something truly terrifying. The mirth in her eyes, that always happy expression... it was replaced by nothing but pure contempt. That's when he realized it. This was a monster, not his angel. A monster that's only emotion was pure, unadulterated **HATE.**

She herself was **HATE**. The girl who was kind and polite was throwing that little boy around with only **HATE** in her eyes.

She was _hatred incarnate._

"Aigis, PLEASE!" Minato screamed. "This isn't you!"

"Oh, Mina-chan, you're HOPELESS!" Shadow Aigis cackled. "It IS me! The REAL me! Look at this hideous body! Wanna know who did it to me? A Kirijo! So what's a better revenge than killing the heir to the throne herself!?" Shadow Aigis picked up Ken's body and held a hand to his stomach. "This is just a PREVIEW!"

Everything stopped.

Only a single gunshot could be heard.

Everyone tried to yell, but they just couldn't get it out.

Ken fell to the ground.

"Oh my God..." Mitsuru uttered.

"This is how easily lives end. Know it well. Death is inevitable. This boy sacrificed his life for revenge, and this is his judgement. He was dead the minute he sold his soul for revenge. This was not Ken, but rather his Shadow. I have released him from his pain. Pain that the Kirijos have caused. I have nothing but hatred for you and this world that they have condemned me to. You all are probably in disbelief that I am Aigis. But let me remind you. I am a Shadow... the true self..."

Aigis's eyes shut before she fell over, the robotic parts of her body giving way to her normal, human parts.

Minato made a mad dash towards the girl, hoping that she was alright.

* * *

><p>Aigis opened her eyes and found herself in the black space that Shadow Aigis took over her body in. She found her other self standing there, in front of her, with her back turned.<p>

"I thought you were gonna take over my body forever. What happened about getting revenge on Mitsuru-senpai?" Aigis asked.

"It got boring. The fun stopped after I killed that Shadow," Shadow Aigis responded.

Aigis smiled. Shadow Aigis could say that all day, but she knew to herself that her Shadow was protecting her, deep down inside. Why else would she go straight for Ken, and not Mitsuru, the person that she despised most in this world?

"I know what you're thinking, and that's not the case. I just got bored, that's all. It's really all there is to it," Shadow Aigis said.

"Oh, stop lying!" Aigis smiled.

Shadow Aigis's eyes widened as she felt arms wrap around her. She looked down to see that Aigis's arms had pulled her into a hug.

"I have to thank you, you know... without you, I guess I would have been toast," Aigis said.

"...I..." Shadow Aigis was at a loss for words. She thought that her other self hated her? "...Thank you."

"For what? We're one in the same, right? So... we should treat each other like we're sisters, right?" Aigis asked.

"Sisters...?" Shadow Aigis began. "I hardly think that-"

"Twins!" Aigis cried out suddenly, startling the Shadow.

"You're... pushing it a bit..." Shadow Aigis said. "Now why don't you wake up and join your little boyfriend and his friends?"

"Remember, since we're the same person, he's yours too!" Aigis reminded. She leaned in close to whisper in her Shadow's ear. "Oh, and touch me the way that you did before you took over my body again, and I'm turning you into scrap metal."

Even Shadow Aigis herself shuddered at that.

* * *

><p>Aigis opened her eyes to see Minato staring down at him with a very concerned expression on his face. As soon as he saw the slightest twitch of her face, he pulled her close to him and embraced her tightly.<p>

"Aigis, you're okay!" Minato cried out.

"M-Minato-kun! What are you doing!?" Aigis asked.

"You have no idea just how scared I was..." Minato said. "I thought I would lose you! And I really don't want that..."

"Oh, Minato..." Aigis smiled, her eyes tearing up.

"Before you _even_ get to sucking face, what happened, Aigis?" Sho asked. "I mean, it's not every day that something like this happens."

"...I was coming home from... Mandragora, and I had picked up my sister, because she had recently moved into town. Her name's Metis. But anyway, after that, we were attacked by Ken. Or, what was left of Ken. It turns out that his Shadow appeared, went berserk, and killed him. Oh, you guys probably don't know about those kinds of Shadows, do you? Well, those Shadows are your negative emotions taken form, and they pretty much amplify it by ten," Aigis explained. "Well, me and Metis were fighting with it, when a lighting bolt struck me down. I woke up to find my own Shadow staring at me, and soon enough, it took over my body. I guess it said and did some nasty stuff, but her heart was in the right place! She was protecting me in her own way!"

"By threatening my life and killing Ken?" Mitsuru asked.

"It wasn't Ken, how many times did I have to tell you!?" Shinjiro asked, an annoyed expression on his face. "Aigis's Shadow said it enough. That was Ken's Shadow."

While the members of SEES were talking about what had happened and reviewing the facts, just a few feet behind Shinjiro, Ken started to stir. He couldn't believe it himself that he was still alive, but he thanked every God that he could for this opportunity.

He could finally get his revenge.

His lance was in one hand, and he had just about enough strength to pierce Shinjiro's heart with it before dying himself.

Shadow Ken rose his lance up, and prepared to throw it.

Metis saw what was happening, and sent a panicked look Shinjiro's way. "Shinjiro, watch out, behind you!"

Metis tried to run and stop Ken. Well, everyone did. Shinjiro stood there, watching as Ken threw the spear, aiming it straight at his heart.

It was too late.

Akihiko tried to grab the spear, but it was going too fast for him to catch.

Shinjiro's body jerked, and he slowly looked down, eyes widening. In what? Fear? Anger?

A spear was lodged right in his chest, with blood pouring out of the newly opened wound.

"...Hahaha... finally... mother... I'm coming to join you... I killed him... just for you..." Ken muttered, his eyes shutting. A serene smile spread across his lips.

"SHINJI!" Akihiko screamed, rushing towards his friend.

"...Aki..." Shinjiro said, falling to the floor. He was still awake, but he didn't know how long he would be able to talk for. "Aki, listen to me... you guys have a full life ahead of you... don't let it go to waste... destroy the Dark Hour... don't hesitate in anything..."

"Shinji, stop talking like you're going to die!" Akihiko yelled, grabbing his best friend's hand. "We can help you out! Yukari, get over here! Shinjiro needs help!"

"Akihiko-senpai..." Yukari began.

"Don't tell me you can't do it! You can! I've seen you close huge gashes on arms before! Why can't you just heal his heart!" Akihiko yelled, making her flinch.

"Aki... I wasn't too long for this world anyway... forget about me... _move on_..." Shinjiro said. "Stop staying in the past... you can only move ahead if you look to the future, right? Start thinking that way, Aki... please... if you listen to anything that I have to say, listen to that."

"Shinji, you're not going to die, dammit! I don't have to tell you a million _fucking_ times!" Akihiko shouted.

"Aki... please..." Shinjiro put a hand to his lips. "Just let it go... I was going to die, anyway. Why not end it now, and spare me the pain of my brain deteriorating slowly from the pills?"

"You're still taking them!?" Akihiko asked, checking Shinjiro's coat pocket. Sure enough, he felt the bottle of pills there, and his expression darkened. "Come on, Shinji! I told you to get off of them!"

Shinjiro smiled at his friend. "This is the last time that you say that to me... I'm sorry, Aki... Fight hard..." Shinjiro fell limp.

"SHINJI!" Akihiko yelled, shaking the lifeless body in his arms. "Shinji, come on, wake up! Please! Shinji! Shinji! Come on, answer me! Shinji!"

Aigis buried her face in Minato's chest, hugging him tight, not wanting to see any more of the scene before her. Minato started to stroke his hand down her hair, trying to calm her down. He could feel her sobbing.

"Akihiko-senpai..." Junpei said, sorrow laced in his voice. Yukari could only look down as she watched tears fall down Akihiko's face and onto Shinjiro's jacket.

"Just leave me alone," it was a simple command, but one that struck their hearts. No one saw Akihiko like this, ever. Even Sho was speechless. The red head nodded and turned around to walk away, honoring his demand.

"Akihiko... come back when you're ready to, alright?" Mitsuru asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with sympathy in her eyes. Akihiko nodded, and moved Shinjiro's dead body to one of the benches in the mall.

He sat down, putting his best friend's head on his lap, looking up at the green sky.

It was a silent walk back to the dorm.


	27. Chapter 27

**Did you guys see that trailer for P5!? It looks amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 27: Fallout  
><em>

* * *

><p>Aigis sat down in the lounge of the dorm with a thoughtful expression on her face. She was going over exactly what had happened yesterday, when Ken's Shadow attacked her and Metis. She couldn't believe what happened there actually happened, and she—along with everyone else in the team—were still in shock.<p>

Through the entire trip home, she was frightened that Mitsuru had lost her trust in her, and that she thought of her as an enemy due to what her Shadow said about hating the Kirijos, but she had told Aigis that there were no hard feelings.

It must have been because Aigis explained to her that the Shadows were just exaggerating their innermost feelings to an extreme. But she could tell that they were going to sit down one day and have a long talk about it. It was clear in Mitsuru's eyes.

"Aigis, I'd like to have a word with you," said Mitsuru. Aigis snapped out of the daze that she had put herself in and looked up to see the red head looking at her from her seat all the way at the other side of the lounge. Aigis gulped, seeing the pure emotionless look in her eyes.

"Sure thing, Mitsuru-senpai..." Aigis said, standing up. Mitsuru stood up and motioned for her to walk with her. They stopped at the meeting room, and when they walked in, Mitsuru took the seat farthest from Aigis. She leaned over in her chair and put her elbows on the table, crossing her hands over her mouth.

"This is... about her, isn't it?" Aigis asked, knowing that it HAD to be the case. Why else would Mitsuru want to talk to her?

"...Yes," was all that she got as a response. But it was enough of a response to tell her the mood of this conversation. "Aigis... is that your Shadow said true?"

"...If I denied that, then I wouldn't really be accepting myself, something that I did a long time ago, would I? I guess... I guess that somewhere deep down inside, I still hate the fact that I was born into this world as a weapon, a machine, a tool... I was tested day and night to see my "combat skill". If any ordinary person were to go through that, they would be dead within a week. But no... I was _special_. I was the Anti-Shadow Weapon to end all Anti-Shadow Weapons. I was designed to be the most powerful one in existence. To go past the limits of the one they made in the 5th Generation, Labrys. I was seen as a tool of destruction and death, nothing more. And you know something? You wanna know something really sick and twisted, Mitsuru-senpai? _I loved the power._ It's _orgasmic," _Aigis explained.

"...Aigis..." Mitsuru began. "I surely don't know what you've been through. I don't even really know how to talk about this. It's just... I'm a little bit worried, is all. I can't say that seeing you like that... your Shadow taking over you... I can't say that it didn't strike fear into my heart. I thought that I was sincerely going to die that night."

"I'm sorry," Aigis said. "I... didn't have any control over her."

Mitsuru put up a hand. "And I understand that. I just want to know what the Kirijo Group did to you to make you despise them that much."

"_I _don't despise them... she does," Aigis reminded.

"That aside... what did they do to you? I need to know..." Mitsuru said.

"Why do you need to know, anyway, senpai? Can't you just leave this alone and leave it to die, like Shinjiro-senpai had told us all to do?" Aigis asked.

"...I know that he told us that we needed to move on from the past, but this is just something that you can't move past! This concerns my family, the company that I one day wish to run! I want to make sure that there's no more travesties that happen to poor lives such as yourself! I don't want another tortured soul to come out of the Kirijos' hands!" Mitsuru cried out. "Sho Minazuki, Minato and Minako Arisato, Yukari Takeba, you, Aigis! All of you have been hurt in some way thanks to the Kirijo Group, and when I become CEO... I'm going to change that all. I'm going to make sure not another life gets desecrated."

Aigis stared at the red head, stunned. She didn't realize that was what she wanted...

"...I was tested. I had to destroy all the other members of my generation. I had to turn every last one of them into scrap metal, and they didn't stop there. Sometimes they would push me to my breaking point, sending at least fifteen other models after me at once. That was when I had summoned my Persona, Palladion, as well... and that was their standard training procedure. I don't want to know what would have happened if Death hadn't broken free..." I said.

"I see..." Mitsuru said. "That's... I really don't know what to say. I'm... at a loss for words. Who knew that your own family could do this without you even knowing? It's... ridiculous."

"Mitsuru-senpai, what are you thinking about doing?" Aigis asked.

"I... don't know. But I know that I'm not going to make any rash decisions. If there's something that my father has ever taught me while I was working with him, it's this: don't make any hasty decisions, because they risk your life," Mitsuru said.

"I see..." Aigis said.

"Aigis... I want to make this plain and clear. I care for you deeply. I'm sure that everyone here does. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. If there's something that's bothering you, please... come and tell me," Mitsuru said. "Let's go back downstairs. They're probably thinking that I've executed you."

Aigis shuddered at that statement. Back when they went to Kyoto, Mitsuru had executed the boys because they found them in the hot spring with them. After an intense bout of explanations later on, she had found out that it was a mistake on their part and that they really didn't mean it. Aigis herself was a little angry that she was being spied on, especially the fact that Ryoji was there.

She decided that she would be the first one in the hot springs the next time they went to Kyoto, so none of that would ever happen.

* * *

><p>"What in the name of Hell are you doing here?" the familiar, snide voice of her other self asked. Aigis stared at Shadow Aigis for a little bit before moving closer toward her.<p>

"I wanted to talk with you about something Shinjiro-senpai told us all before he died. He told us that we needed to move on from the past. To let it go..." Aigis said.

"You had a talk with someone didn't you? Was it the Kirijo?" Shadow Aigis asked, a scowl forming on her face.

"She told me that she only wanted to know about you because she wanted to change the way of the Kirijo group when she becomes the CEO," Aigis said.

"Oh, so she SAID that, but didn't DO anything about that?" Shadow Aigis turned away. "You're wasting your time. I'll never change."

Shadow Aigis let out a small gasp when she felt Aigis's arms wrap around her. "Let it go..."

"Why are you so hellbent on changing me!? What good have I ever done for you!? Just yesterday I took advantage of you!" Shadow Aigis whirled around, rage clear in her gleaming yellow eyes.

"You saved me and my friends' life... and that's the first step," whispered Aigis.

"Fine... you're the most stubborn bitch I know. I guess... I can forget about being trapped in a mechanical body. I guess you DID accept that fact down the line. I'll just focus on your other problems!" Shadow Aigis said.

"Oh, gee, thanks!" Aigis laughed a little bit. The two sat down on the floor.

"...The last time you were here you called me your twin sister... Why? Is that not Metis?"

"Oh, well I guess I could call her my fraternal twin. You'd be my identical one," Aigis explained.

"I see," said Shadow Aigis.

"This place looks so bleak... I wish I could change it. What would you want it to look like?" Aigis turned to her Shadow.

"This blackness is fine," Shadow Aigis said.

"Well, if you're okay with it, so am I," Aigis looked up to the sky-not that there really was one-and began to think about what her Shadow would be like now.

Satisfied with what she did, Aigis decided it was time to sleep for a bit.

* * *

><p>Minato and Yukari sat down together in the lounge, alone. No one else was there. They were doing their own thing, trying to get their minds off of Shinjiro's death, and the supposed resignation of Akihiko.<p>

The only firm believer that he would come back was Minato. He didn't know why himself, but he just _knew_ that Akihiko wouldn't quit. That wasn't the pro boxer that he had grown to trust over the months that they were together. It just wasn't in the guy to give up.

Minato had already been through the ordeal of thinking that everything was hopeless, until both Mitsuru and Fuuka showed him that not every situation was as bleak as he thought. Minato supposed that some of the times that he was thinking that things were hopeless was because of how powerless he was to save his parents. He wished that he could have done something for them, but there was no way.

But even if he had the chance to go and fix that, he wouldn't take it for the world. He knew exactly why he didn't want to, either. It was because he would never meet his comrades in SEES. He wouldn't have met the love of his life, Aigis, the person who he swore to protect with every fiber of his being.

He couldn't live with himself doing that. He just couldn't picture going back to prevent a death. But then his thoughts went to Aigis. What did he think of her, then? That she was weak willed? That she had given up? No... there was no way to alleviate the pain of losing him. He was just that close to Aigis. He was close to his parents, sure, but when he heard Aigis talk about the Minato of her time, it was like they had been together for years on end.

Minato turned to look at Yukari, who was solemnly looking down on the ground, holding a cell phone loosely in her right hand. On the cell phone was a text to Akihiko, asking him when he was going to come back. She didn't get a reply, and she had sent it 20 minutes ago.

"Yukari, are you okay?" Minato asked.

Yukari looked at the boy. Her eyes betrayed no emotion. She looked like she was truly emotionless. "What do you think, Minato?"

"Everyone's been down in the dumps after Shinjiro-senpai died. I mean, I know what it feels like to have someone important to you ripped away from you, but... it just feels like everyone has given up on this ordeal," Minato said.

"Why wouldn't we? I think that we all never had a second thought about our own mortality when we started this, but now that Shinjiro-senpai has died, I think we're all now slowly realizing that maybe... maybe we're in over our heads," Yukari said.

""In over our heads"? Yukari... do you even know what you're saying?" Minato asked, disbelief laced in his voice.

"Yeah, Minato-kun, I do..." Yukari responded, looking back at her phone. Not a single response. Akihiko was still at the same place with Shinjiro.

"Yukari... I really don't know what to say without bringing up some things that I'm sure that the two of us don't like talking about. I'll tell you something about me. When my parents died, it was like I had lost all emotion in my life. I was almost like a zombie... and it was like that for a while, until I met you guys. Mitsuru-senpai and Fuuka-chan had told me something that I'll never forget. We're all in this together... so we can't give up. And when we see someone getting down in the dumps, we have to encourage them to pick up their spirits, no matter how far down they go," Minato fiddled around with a strand of his blue hair that fell in front of his face.

"What does that mean, Minato?" Yukari asked. "That I shouldn't give up?"

"Shinjiro-senpai told us all to move on from the past, and look towards the future from now on. Are you really going to be that petty that you're not going to heed his last words?" Minato asked. Yukari gasped at Minato's statement. She didn't expect him to say something like that. Generally, he was impassive, and wouldn't interfere with someone's problems unless they had came to him. But now... it was like Minato was a different person. This Minato in front of her was not the Minato that she knew before, from two months ago. The one that said that they were... getting in over their heads.

"Oh my God... you're... you're right, Minato-kun... What have I been doing, just sitting here, thinking about giving this up? We've been at this for far too long for us to give up here, right? Well... I guess... I guess that I'm not gonna have that. You don't give up no matter what either, right Minato? Well, I'm gonna follow your philosophy from now on. The two of us, we're much closer than we realized, huh? Moving forward, without looking back... that doesn't sound like a bad thing at all..." suddenly, Yukari felt something click within her brain. She looked surprised as her Persona appeared in front of her, before changing and morphing.

Minato smiled at Yukari, knowing that her Persona was beginning to evolve. "How do you like that? It looks like your Persona's evolved..."

"Isis..." Yukari stared at the Persona in awe. This was the power to face your own doubts about yourself.

Some time passed before Yukari noticed something strange on Minato's back. Some of the skin there was a little bit lighter than his already pale skin.

"Hey, Minato, did you get hurt or something? Your back..." Yukari tapped his shoulder.

"Oh, that scar? Well... I guess you could say a certain someone's a bit kinky," Minato smirked.

"She's like that!?" Yukari almost burst out.

"A completely different person in bed," Minato stated with a knowing smile.

"Man, and you think you know someone..." Yukari said. "Well, I don't mean to pry... it just... struck me as odd."

"Yeah. Well, I can understand why, though. She's been waiting for a moment like this for so long now... so now that she can do it, why not enjoy it to the fullest extent?" Minato asked.

"You've got a point there... you know, I've been having some boy troubles of my own recently. I have no idea how to come out and honestly speak to him..." Yukari trailed off.

"Oh, you've got a crush on someone? Well, I'm sure that if you just stayed yourself, he'd like you. After all, if you're a fake person your whole life, are you going to remember the person that you were before?" Minato asked, walking up the stairs and to bed.

Yukari smiled at his retreating figure. 'You know... at first I thought that me and you wouldn't get along, but in the end, it turns out we became best friends... thank you, Minato.'


	28. Chapter 28

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 28: The Stains of Time_

Akihiko stood there in the alleyway, a blank expression clear on his face. He had been wearing it for a very long time. He couldn't remember how long it had been since Shinjiro's life faded away right before his very eyes. How long has it been since he started to stand here... without getting any food, without getting any water, without even talking to his friends? Days? Weeks? He had seen the texts. Most of them were surprisingly from Mitsuru. But then again, why should he be surprised? She was the one who cared about him the most in that group...

The silver haired man walked forward, letting his mind lead him. He really didn't know where he was going to go, or why. He was on auto pilot. Wherever he was going, maybe it would be important to him.

His body was soaked from all the rain that had fallen down on him. He found it both fitting and cliche that rain would fall while he was standing out here. His phone vibrated again, and he looked at it to check who had sent him a text message this time.

It was from Aigis, saying "Senpai, please come back...". Akihiko shook his head. He couldn't come back to them like this. He didn't think that he was going to come back anyway.

Another vibration. This time he was ready, and had rose it to his face ahead of time. "Akihiko-senpai, dude, Mitsuru-senpai's going NUTS. You gotta come back. We all miss you," from Junpei.

"Yeah, well isn't that nice? I miss Shinjiro, but you don't see him back, do you?" Akihiko muttered to himself. None of them would understand what he was going through right now.

"That's quite the selfish way to think, Akihiko," a calm, collected voice said, making him stop in his tracks and turn around to look at who was behind him. Mitsuru was standing there with a smile on her face. She didn't bring anything with her. It was just her. No evoker, nothing.

"It's been a long time since we've talked about something like this, hasn't it?" asked Mitsuru. A cool breeze blew through the wind.

* * *

><p>"Are you still sad?"<p>

Minako looked up at the voice that sounded so oddly like her brother's. Ryoji stared down at her as she silently wept.

"Ryoji-kun... what are you doing here?" Minako asked.

"Although you never told him, you were attracted to him. You wanted to be with him, and the day before you were going to ask him out," Ryoji stated, like he had memorized that fact.

"How do you know that!?" Minako asked, glaring at the boy with her tear-filled eyes.

"People are so easy to read..." Ryoji said, sitting down and tugging at his scarf. "You can tell what someone is thinking if you're really, carefully looking at them. Their eyes, their facial expressions... the tone in their own voice... these three things are what most use to read someone's thoughts."

"...You're right, though..." Minako said.

"You had fallen in love with Shinjiro. Why wouldn't you? He was handsome, he was tall, he was muscular, he was able to cook. He seemed like the perfect man. But then that event occurred. Ken Amada gave into his revenge, and he killed Shinjiro," Ryoji said. "Those who want revenge are petty. It just so happens that most of the people in this world want some kind of revenge. If you would like a prime example, look at Sho, or better yet, look at yourself."

Minako gasped, understanding what Ryoji was implying.

"People die every day. You cannot avoid death. To live is to die, they are one in the same. Do you see what I am getting at, Minako? What I'm saying is... nothing in this life is eternal, so you should make the best of the life that you do have, and heed Shinjiro's last words. Do not look back to the path that you have taken, rather the road ahead," Ryoji said. He stood up, ready to leave, but Minako grabbed his shoulder.

"Ryoji-kun... Thank you," Minako said, tears still in her eyes. Ryoji turned around and smiled at the girl.

"You're welcome, Minako-chan. It is the least that I could do."

* * *

><p>Aigis stood outside, at the fountain in Paulownia Mall. She really couldn't say much. What was there to say? She decided to pay a visit here like she did for Minato, before she went back in time and all this started.<p>

She was paying her respects to the fallen members of SEES. While everyone was saying that Ken got what was coming to him, and that he was a special kind of scum, she was sitting there, thinking about the boy from her future, the boy that smiled with the entire team, weeks after Shinjiro had passed away.

The boy had left, feeling so ashamed at what he had done. He was gone for days, and then Akihiko of all people went out to go and look for him. He somehow convinced him to come back into SEES, and told him that he didn't bear any grudges.

Aigis laughed at how ironic the situation was. Akihiko was the one who had left now, and there was no Ken to go and convince him to rejoin SEES. There was no one who would dare go for the man.

Except for one person. She had seen her go out of the house. She turned around to look at Aigis, who had a concerned expression on her face, and she told her that she wasn't going to come back until Akihiko returned to the dorm with her. She said that if she had to execute him, she would.

"It sucks, don't it?" a familiar voice asked. It was calm, not in that same, jeering tone that he always spoke in. Sho had a pained look on his face as he walked up to meet Aigis.

"You know, I was never expecting something like that to happen. Out of all the things that were going through my mind when your Shadow broke out, and started to attack nearly everyone, I wasn't expecting Ken's Shadow to rise up from that gunshot and stab Shinjiro through the heart. There was no way that we could have given him medical attention, huh?" asked Sho.

"I don't know... but... I guess it was what he wanted..." Aigis said, not really knowing what to say. She hadn't talked to the boy in a serious manner like this since she met him, even back in the P-1 Grand Prix.

"What he wanted? Did he want his best friend to get on his knees and start crying because his best friend died? I'm not too sure about that, Aigis. But... in a way... I can see where you're coming from. Everyone's gotta kick the bucket one day, right? Well... I guess maybe that day, Death had his number. I can't help but feel that it was just... unfair. I didn't know the guy too well, but if doesn't take a genius to see that he's been through some serious shit," Sho said, looking into the fountain. There was a lone lance at the very bottom. It was only visible if you looked really hard into the water, though.

"In my time, Akihiko-senpai told me what had happened. The two were orphans. They were living together along with Akihiko-senpai's sister, Miki Sanada. Well, it seems that one day, that orphanage burned down. Shinjiro had wanted to save her so bad, but the firemen wouldn't let him. They said that it was too dangerous for a child. So Shinjiro and Akihiko had to watch in horror as those same firemen came back with a girl whose face was unrecognizable. Miki had died in that fire..." Aigis said.

"That's... horrible..." said Sho, pain prevalent in his voice.

"And what's more... Shinjiro's Persona lost control one day while he and Akihiko and Mitsuru were out during a mission. It had unleashed a powerful attack, and killed two innocent bystanders while another one watched in horror. Those bystanders of course, were Ken's parents. I never got to know their names. Ken didn't like talking about them. Ken... it's ironic, because Takaya had killed Shinjiro in my timeline, even though Ken was going to do it himself. Takaya could have killed Ken, but he chose not to, just to let Ken feel the results of revenge. Akihiko went to go and convince Ken to come back to us, and eventually he did. Now, I'm wondering if the same thing is going to happen to Akihiko-senpai. If so, then who is going to go and talk to him?" asked Aigis, turning to Sho.

"I think it's someone who's pretty close to him. You know, the Kirijo," Sho said. He still spat out her name, even after all these months.

"Maybe..." Aigis stated.

* * *

><p>The two were sitting down at a bench at the station. Winter was coming near, and Mitsuru had started to feel the cold setting in awfully early on. She had brought herself a coat, along with one for Akihiko. She had her hands in the pocket of said coat, looking up to the clearish sky. There were a few clouds here and there, but the sky was relatively clean.<p>

"It's been a while since I've seen you like this," Mitsuru said, after a long time of sitting down in silence.

"Has it? I think the first time I felt something like this was when I found out that Shinji was taking those pills," Akihiko said.

"Everyone at the dorm is pretty worried about you," Mitsuru noted. "They're all asking me: "When is Akihiko-senpai coming back? Why isn't he answering our texts?" Things like that. It really started to get on my nerves, because I had thought that you were going to come back within due time. I thought that you would get over his death easy... but then again, I shouldn't be the one talking. I know how hard it must be to lose a friend as good as Shinjiro. He was a loyal teammate, and great comrade till the end. I'm sure that he doesn't want to see you putting yourself through this hell, however."

"You thought that I would get over it within a week?" Akihiko asked. "Do you really think that, Mitsuru...? I want you to answer me."

Mitsuru sighed, before shaking her head. "I admit that at first, I did. But then I realized just how much Shinjiro meant to you, and how devastated you were when he died. Looking back, it was a cruel thought on my part, and I should be ashamed by it. You know, I've never experienced loss before... but I hope that I never get to. I don't think that I would be able to handle it as well as you did."

Akihiko stared at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about...? If you can clearly see, I haven't handled this well. If anything, I've been handling this the worst that I ever could."

Once again the red head shook her head. "No, what I'm talking about... I was thinking that you were going to... kill yourself. The entire time... when you wouldn't come back... I was thinking that you had done it. That you had taken your own life. I'm glad that you didn't... I don't know what I myself would have done without you, let alone everyone else."

"...I would never do such a cowardly thing," Akihiko looked annoyed at the fact that she even thought that.

"The state that you were in when you saw him fall to the floor said otherwise to me... but that's from the point of view of someone who's been nearly sheltered all her life. I don't know if I've ever told you this... but I had awakened to my Persona at a very young age, and as a result, my father wouldn't let me anywhere near anything in the lab, and he wouldn't let me go outside during the Dark Hour. He said that he wanted to keep me safe, that he didn't want to damn me to the hand that we have currently been dealt," Mitsuru said, shutting her eyes.

"Mitsuru..." Akihiko began.

"I never really got the chance to bond with him..." Mitsuru said. "It was always me, alone... with my dolls, in my room. I never got the chance to see him, I never got the chance to talk to him... he was always just so busy... he never had the time for me, it seemed. But I knew... I knew better. It was because of his work. It was because of the job that he had set himself into. He wanted to end the Dark Hour, and he wanted to put a stop to the travesty that my grandfather created... But... I had wished that... even though he had little time to himself, he would have been able to spend more time with me. I thought that when I finally called my father after all those years of me being alone, when Aigis stopped Ikutsuki from making us to that horrible thing that he was planning... I thought that I would finally be able to reconnect with my father... Well, it turns out that I had just given him even more work to do... Lucky me, right?" the woman laughed bitterly.

"What are you saying?" Akihiko asked.

"Come back, Akihiko... You're the only one that I can really talk to like this..." Mitsuru began, turning to Akihiko. "I know... it must be quite ironic to see me like this, but please... Akihiko... I can't do this alone... I _need _you..."

Akihiko began to feel himself dragging towards Mitsuru. "Mitsuru..."

"Please..." Mitsuru begged, leaning closer.

Soon enough, their lips locked with one another.

The two didn't know where it came from, but it did. To be honest, Akihiko had been waiting for something like this, and so was Mitsuru. Mitsuru recalled what Sho had said about the two.

_"They're gonna be the type of couple that just doesn't wanna admit it, and they're just gonna keep on going and going like that until something happens. A vicious cycle."_

They broke their kiss, and stared at each other for a long time before Akihiko finally spoke up. "M-Mitsuru..."

"...Akihiko, will you come back with me? Will you continue to fight alongside me? As not just a comrade, but as a lover?" Mitsuru asked.

Akihiko couldn't help but nod.

The two walked back to the dorm, holding hands along the way.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 29: Living With Determination_

* * *

><p>It was silent in the dorm. No one was expecting Mitsuru to be coming back anytime soon, as her words before she left were: "I'm not coming back until Akihiko is right here with me."<p>

Ryoji, the being that had emerged from Minat—as he said, at least—was just about as mysterious as ever, choosing not to talk to any of the dorm members at all, rather sitting in the corner and watching them interact from afar.

No one but Aigis knew what he was here for, and Aigis couldn't tell them because then it would most likely ruin everything. Minato couldn't have a fake revelation, after all. That just wouldn't be right.

Mostly everyone had their spirits lifted up by, surprisingly, Minato, who was telling them that it was just going to be a matter of time until Akihiko came back to them. No one could blame him, though, because it made some sense. Of course he would have to need some time to think.

Everyone was getting used to the fact that Aigis had a sister. It was definitely an odd experience. Teaching her how to use appliances and other things was a task in and of itself.

While they were expecting Akihiko and Mitsuru to come back, no one was expecting it to happen so soon.

The door opened suddenly, almost like it was some kind of dramatic entrance in one of those western movies. A silver haired man and a woman with red hair walked into the dorm's lounge, with the man shutting the door on his way in.

It didn't take a genius to know who these two were. Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada.

Everyone's reaction was the same. "Akihiko-senpai!"

Nearly everyone jumped onto the boxer in a death hug. Akihiko fell to the ground with the mass of teenagers on top of him, with Mitsuru holding a hand in front of her mouth to keep her from laughing.

"Hey hey hey! Guys, I know you've missed me and all, but could you lay off the dog pile? You're gonna crack some bones if you keep this up!" Akihiko cried out, trying to push off Junpei.

"I told you that I wouldn't be long," Mitsuru said to the others. "Akihiko's here now, and he's very sorry that he put you all through what he did, right?"

Akihiko gulped at the threatening glare that he received, and nodded his head. "Yeah... I guess I caused you guys a lot of trouble with me leaving and all. I'm sorry that I did that... I just needed some time to think, I guess. Don't take it personally, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Everyone needs time to think for themselves at times," Ryoji stated. "It's a simple part of life."

"You're right on that. Everyone needs some time for themselves every now and then, but you can't just go and shun yourself from everyone else, the people that are willing to help you through whatever it was that was paining you," Minazuki said.

"Senpai, come to us if you need to talk, you know? We're here for you just as much as you're here for us," Yukari said.

"Well, now I'm here, and there's nothing that can faze me anymore. I'm gonna follow Shinji's advice. I'll move on from the past, and only look to the future!" Akihiko said. "There's only a few days left until the full moon, right? I think that maybe Strega is going to try something then. We should prepare ourselves for anything."

The members of SEES nodded their heads in agreement. When Strega was concerned, they really did have to put their all into it.

* * *

><p>Minato couldn't find Fuuka anywhere. It was like she wasn't at the dorm at all, like she had disappeared. It had been a few weeks since everything happened with Shinjiro and Ken. Today was November 3rd. All throughout the day Aigis was acting pretty shaky, and Minato could understand why. Today was the full moon, and Aigis also explained that this is the day that they fought the last Shadow.<p>

Minato walked up the stairs of the dorm, wandering around, looking for Fuuka. It wasn't like he wanted to talk to her, he just wanted to know if she was alright or not. She wasn't acting like herself lately, often doubting in her power as they climbed up Tartarus. Sometimes she wouldn't be able to pinpoint the location of a guardian Shadow at one point, and would start saying that she was useless, before she was interrupted by someone who was standing downstairs with her.

He wanted to talk to her and see what was wrong. Ever since Shinjiro died, he felt like he had to be a mediator for the team, to get them all back together again. That awkward silence that lasted way too long for his liking just had to go.

Eventually, he found himself at the door to the meeting room. He could hear something inside of it. It felt like there was someone in there. Minato opened the door slowly, as to not disturb anyone—it was the Dark Hour after all, and most were sleeping—and found Fuuka staring out the window with her Persona summoned.

"Fuuka-chan, what are you doing up here so late?" Minato asked, startling the girl and almost making her scream as she jumped a few feet backwards. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Minato. She was thinking that there was some sort of criminal that broke into the dorm, because no one would be up at this hour unless Minato told everyone that.

She played around with her fingers, still inside of the Persona's shell. "Oh, Minato-kun! Um... I'm... I'm just looking. Remember what Senpai said about Strega and how they might attack during this full moon? Well... I just wanted to pinpoint their location, but I can't do it! I don't know why, but lately, it's almost like there's something wrong with my Persona..."

"Don't feel too bad about it," Minato said, walking up to her and stopping as soon as he reached her side.

"Why shouldn't I? I have to use this Persona to help you out, and when that power is taken away from me... all it feels like is that I can't do anything, and that I'm just some innocent bystander..." Fuuka said.

"Fuuka... what did you say to me about giving up?" Minato asked. He took out his evoker and shot himself, summoning Thanatos. The Persona floated closely behind him, covering him with the coffins around him as a form of protection.

"Because you told me that simple fact... that I shouldn't give up, I awakened to this Persona's power. This is Thanatos, the Persona that Orpheus morphed into, remember? Well, Fuuka... I think that maybe you should take your own advice. You don't have to please everyone to be good for the team. It doesn't help to beat yourself up like this, Fuuka," Minato said. "No matter what you say, you _are_ important. You can do whatever you want to if you set your mind to it. Don't let us pressure you, Fuuka. If you can't scan for them, then you can't scan for them, and that's the end of that. We'll just have to go around looking for them if they do anything."

"Minato-kun..."

"Never forget, Fuuka... that no matter what you do or what happens, you're _not_ useless," Minato said. "And I'm gonna beat that shit into your head until you accept it."

"...Thank you, Minato-kun..." Fuuka said. Suddenly, her Persona disappeared from around her. Fuuka could feel something happening in her mind. Whatever it was, she knew that it had to be directly related to her Persona. Was it evolving?

"Now then... why don't you try again?" Minato asked. "I'm sure that you can find those bastards. I'll wake everyone up and tell them to get ready for a fight."

Minato walked out of the room, leaving Fuuka to stare at the door that he exited from, with a smile on her face. She was astounded at how much Minato had changed from when she first met him. He was uncaring then... now he was brimming with determination.

Fuuka wanted to be like Minato.

She summoned her new Persona, Juno, and got to work on finding Strega. She wanted to keep the silent promise that she made to Minato. She wouldn't fail anymore.

The other members of SEES came flooding into the room, all with their weapons and armbands on. Aigis was the first one to speak. "Fuuka, did you find anything?"

"...Yes," Fuuka said. That vision that she got as they were coming in... a bridge. What were they doing at a bridge? Akihiko wasn't wrong when he said that they were going to try something fishy. But what could they possibly—

Fuuka sensed something _terrifying_ along with them. She didn't know what it was, but it was powerful. Very, very powerful. She was getting the same feelings that she got when Shadow Aigis took over Aigis's body. Something on that caliber... did they have to fight that?

"They're at the Moonlight Bridge, but something else is along there with them. I don't know what it is, but it's scaring me..." Fuuka said.

"That's probably the Arcana Hanged Man. That Shadow was a nightmare to fight... I guess they're moving towards Tartarus to stop us once again. What do you guys want to do? Meet them there, or do you want to go to the Moonlight Bridge? If we go there, chances are that we have to fight the Shadow too, so take that into consideration," Aigis said.

"Oh, that's right! We were on that schedule of going to Tartarus every full moon... the last full moon we didn't go because you weren't there, Aigis," Junpei remembered.

"Yeah, and we're pretty damn close to getting to a new block, and that means that we're getting close to finding out the secret of Tartarus. We've only got two more documents left... The last one was saying something about gathering Shadows... they arise due to human emotions..." Minato said. "So wouldn't Shadows and Personas be the same, then?"

"I've witnessed something that may prove it. During something called the "P-1 Grand Prix" hosted by... well, never mind that. Well, during it, I encountered my sister, Labrys, for the first time. She had to fight her Shadow, and when I defeated it, the Shadow turned into a Persona for Labrys to use. So, I think that Personas are Shadows that have been accepted," Aigis said.

Mitsuru coughed to get everyone's attention. "You know, we should go to Tartarus to get more information about the Shadows, but we should keep an eye out for Strega. If they're making their way towards Tartarus, then we should just wait for them to come to us. Let's make this our last battle with them."

* * *

><p>While the members of SEES walked up to Tartarus, they were looking around for any signs that Strega would be there. It didn't look like they were there... but then again, Strega was slippery.<p>

Mitsuru was keeping a close eye out for any disturbances in the bushes or trees or really anywhere that they could hide.

"We know that you're here somewhere! Just come out already!" Junpei yelled, swinging his sword around like some sort of baseball bat. Yukari ducked underneath the blade once and then put her hand on his shoulder.

"Junpei, are you stupid? You should just stop before you hurt someone! You almost took my head off!" Yukari scolded.

Junpei laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah... right, sorry. I kinda forgot about the fact that I was with you guys. Sometimes the adrenaline gets to my head, you know?"

"God you're such an idiot... but... that's why I like you, so I can't complain here," Yukari said.

Three figures emerged from the inside of Tartarus. It was Strega. Somehow they had arrived earlier than the members of SEES. Just what were they doing in the tower, anyway?

"Ah, so you are here." Takaya said with a smirk.

"Takaya, Jin, Chidori," Minato spoke. "You understand that we're not going to let you stop us. We already know why you're here."

"Ah... but do you understand why we are here trying to stop you? You claim to hunt the Shadows to prevent the disasters that they bring... yet when you look at the world without considerations to the Dark Hour, you'll realize that many people die from other causes as well. You wish to destroy the Dark Hour... but know that doing that is tantamount to destroying yourselves. You do not wish for the Dark Hour to end... you are only merely deceiving yourselves." Takaya said.

"Forget these maggots, Takaya," Jin began.

Ignoring Jin, Takaya continued, "Why not celebrate the Dark Hour? You are merely wasting energy."

"When are you gonna realize that we don't give a shit about what you have to say!?" Yukari yelled, receiving a glare from both Chidori and Jin. But that didn't matter to her. They could stare all they wanted. She wasn't going to give in to them.

"My life was stolen from me, and in it's place I was given a power that I never asked for. Shinjiro said that you should look on to the future, instead of living in the past. He's right on one thing... you shouldn't look back to the past, but you shouldn't look to the future, either! You should live only in the moment! Only by living every moment to its fullest will you find true happiness. That is why we love the Dark Hour! It shines a light on this darkened world!" Takaya said.

"Oh, put a sock in it! You're so full of shit! I'm not gonna stop fighting against the Shadows just because you want a little night-light!" Junpei yelled.

"He told me that you would not take no for an answer," Takaya said darkly.

"Who told you? Ikutsuki?" Aigis asked.

"No... someone else entirely. He came to me speaking of the world changing to something more of my liking. A world where we could all live peacefully in. Now I, along with Jin and Chidori, have seen the light of his words! He wills you to be killed today, and so it shall be! I hope that you're ready, because today is your last day alive," Takaya threatened.

"Hold on. I'll take you," Minazuki said, gesturing for Takaya to come at him. Takaya smirked as he watched Minazuki.

"Ah. So you think you can defeat me alone, huh?" Takaya asked.

"I don't think. I know," Minazuki returned, a cocky expression on his face.

Jin started to move towards Minazuki to defend Takaya, but instantly, Aigis was on him, ready to defend the red head.

"So, you think you're good with weapons, huh? Lemme show you..." Aigis smirked, throwing her guns up into the air and catching them flawlessly, pointing both of them at Jin with one hand on top of the other, holding the guns sideways. "How a real weapons expert works."

Chidori moved towards Jin, aiming to protect him. The rest of the members of SEES surrounded Aigis, ready to fight against both Jin and Chidori while Minazuki had his fight with Takaya.

"So it looks like this is gonna be our final battle with Strega, huh?" Minato asked, drawing his sword.

"I hope so..." Aigis said.

Everything went silent as the members of the different teams stared each other down. Minazuki's eyes narrowed. He was ready to eliminate Strega once and for all.


	30. Chapter 30

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 30: Bonds_

* * *

><p>"And you're absolutely sure that entrusting Takaya with what we're planning to do won't backfire on us?" Ikutsuki asked, looking at the man skeptically.<p>

The man smirked. "We will have to intervene if there's something that goes wrong, you know. Don't worry... while they are outnumbered, you have made Strega strong, Ikutsuki. Do not doubt your experiments."

"I don't think you understand. My greatest experiment is fighting alongside SEES. Sho Minazuki is a monster that will stop at nothing to destroy his target once he gets going," Ikutsuki explained.

"I see... that is a problem indeed. However, I trust that Takaya and his comrades can do it. However, know this. If he falls here... then we will have to start over again and look for someone that will help us destroy Shadows."

"And just how long is that going to take!?" Ikutsuki asked. "I'm not going to risk losing everything that we have worked up for! We're so close that it's not even funny! I'm going down there."

"No!" the man commanded, grabbing Ikutsuki by the arm. "We will watch. Let us not interfere with what destiny has planned. It is what Takaya believes in."

* * *

><p>Aigis was in the bushes, looking out for Jin. It seemed like everyone had left the two of them to themselves to have their little battle, while they all went for Chidori, who was adamant about supporting both of her comrades.<p>

She had no idea where the blue haired man was, or what he was going to try to do. All she could do was watch where she thought Jin had hid, waiting for him to make a move. If she learned anything about fights like these, it was that you never make the first move.

Jin didn't have any guns on him, but he did have explosives. Actually, she really didn't know what he was carrying in that suitcase that he always had with him, so maybe there was a gun or two in there. Or maybe more explosives.

She really did wish that she was in her robot body just for this fight. She would have taken him down in two seconds if that was the case. And she wasn't about to let her Shadow take over for her again.

Back with Minato and the others, Chidori was throwing around her hatchet like no tomorrow. Everyone was either wildly dodging, or trying to go in for an attack only to get blown away by her Persona. It had an affinity for fire, so Junpei was one of the only ones actually able to get in and fight.

Minato looked over to Ryoji, wondering how he was going to fight and what Persona he would have. He hasn't seen the man in battle before, so he was pretty interested in his skills.

A scream from Chidori told Minato that someone had managed to get a hit in, and now was his time to attack. He jumped up from the ground and rose his sword into the air, ready to cut Chidori down. However, she had recovered much faster than he had expected her to and sidestepped, making Minato's sword go into the ground. He tried to pull it out, but it was stuck there, much to his dismay. The girl rose one of her hatchets and was about to bring it down, until a bullet struck it and made it go flying out of her hand.

Minato looked back to where he saw Aigis go and hide, giving her a thumbs up. He hoped that it didn't reveal her position to Jin, though.

"Mitsuru, be careful!" he heard Akihiko yell. He couldn't afford to look back at Mitsuru to see what had happened. "Her Persona can use fire attacks, so steer clear of her."

"Do not get in my way, Chidori," Takaya warned, looking back from Minazuki, who was coming closer and closer towards him. He had to admit that he was scared to fight against Ikutsuki's prized experiment, the one that could kill tremendous amounts of Shadows without ever tiring, but that was the joy of living, no?

Tsukuyomi absolutely blindsided him as he was preparing to block Minazuki's attack. He didn't realize that the Persona had snuck up behind him without him even realizing.

A sick smile was plastered on Minazuki's face as he rose his swords into the air. Takaya aimed his revolver at Minazuki and fired at his legs, trying to catch him off balance. Minazuki was forced to dodge to the left, but Tsukuyomi was still behind Takaya.

The Persona rose its fire sword and was about to bring it down on the artificial Persona user, but Takaya's Persona had appeared just in time to grab Tsukuyomi by the arms and throw the Persona away.

"This world is about to change," Takaya said. "Your existence does not belong there!"

"That's what you think! However, you are the one that's not wanted here!" Minazuki countered, jumping up into the air and kicking Takaya in the face. The pale man slid back a few inches because of the force of the kick, but was otherwise unharmed by it.

Aigis finally caught sight of Jin, his suitcase gleamed in the moonlight. She jumped out of the bush and ran towards him, firing her guns with pinpoint accuracy. Jin was fast enough to throw his suitcase up to protect himself, but he didn't know what to do now, since Aigis was right at him with her sword drawn. He wasn't too good at fighting hand to hand.

Aigis tried to swipe at his feet, but Jin had backed away fast enough so that he only got a shallow cut at his leg. Jin grimaced in pain as he went to clutch at his leg, but Aigis was on him like a guard dog. Instead of finishing the job, Aigis threw him out to where Chidori was. She got him out of the bushes, and she was going to join the others in their fight against Chidori.

"What's wrong, why don't you finish me off, bitch?" Jin asked, looking at Aigis as she ran towards Chidori.

"Because I don't kill people. It's not in my blood," Aigis said.

"Hahaha... you're really stupid, you know?" Jin asked. He pulled a grenade out from his coat pocket while some of the members who were doing battle against Chidori looked over to him. He threw it towards Aigis.

Everything seemed to slow down as Aigis reached for her Evoker and pulled it to her head.

"ATHENA!"

Just in the nick of time, the Persona appeared in front of Aigis and stopped the grenade. Aigis could feel the heat of the explosion radiating from the shield that Athena guarded her with. If she was hit by that, there was no doubt that she would have died.

"Pay him back in full, Athena!" Aigis commanded. The Persona's shield radiated a light blue before charging after Jin, pushing him into the walls of Tartarus. Jin was knocked out instantly from the impact, falling limp as he fell from the wall.

With that, Aigis ran to join the others in their fight against Chidori.

It was odd. Whenever they dealt any damage towards her, Chidori just shrugged it off. Minato was _sure_ that he should have chopped part of her leg off, but then he saw that her leg was perfectly fine. Something must be happening with her regarding her Persona...

Minazuki jumped above another one of Hypnos's attacks and returned by throwing a knife at Takaya. It soared through the air, eventually getting slapped away by Hypnos.

Minazuki grunted in annoyance as he started to run towards Takaya, hoping that he would be able to get close enough to land a hit.

Luck wasn't on Minazuki's side, however, as a huge gust of wind billowed forth, forcing Minazuki to stand firmly on the ground. While he was keeping himself set on the ground, Takaya started running after him.

"It's over! And I thought you were supposed to be a bloodthirsty warrior... it seems as though you've only been a disappointment to me," Takaya said.

Minazuki smirked, sensing Tsukuyomi appearing behind him. "You're right where I want you! Descend into the abyss!"

Takaya scowled at Minazuki, before seeing a pitch black fog shoot out of Tsukuyomi, covering him and his surroundings. He couldn't make out Minazuki. It seemed like his entire world went dark.

"You... did you blind me!?" Takaya asked, getting panicked. He had no idea that Minazuki could do something like this. Now he wouldn't be able to see where Minazuki was coming from!

"...You lost the moment you underestimated me," Minazuki said, simply walking slowly towards Takaya. He was going to end him nice and slowly.

He pulled out a knife and threw it at Takaya, satisfied to hear the other grunt in pain. He took more knives out of his pocket and threw them into the leader of Strega in all sorts of different locations.

"Is the pain too much for you to bear?" Minazuki asked, getting closer and closer to Takaya.

"Takaya!" Chidori yelled, running towards the pale man. She held her hand out to help him, and somehow alleviate the pain that he was feeling.

Everyone stopped to watch what was going to happen next, even Minazuki himself. He was at a close enough distance, anyway.

Chidori entered the area of pitch black fog, and looked around frantically for Takaya.

"I never noticed that fog before... who made it?" Ryoji asked.

"I did," Minazuki replied. "Takaya cannot see, and by extension, Chidori can't as well."

"So you attacked their senses..." Ryoji said. "Clever indeed."

Chidori pushed through all of the fog, and eventually reached Takaya. She could barely see the man.

"Takaya, I'm here for you!" she cried out, summoning her Persona to heal his wounds.

Takaya scowled at the girl. "You've been completely tainted by them."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Chidori asked, an alarmed expression on her face.

"You're coming here to heal me... when you could have finished them all off!" Takaya barked.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you die here... You saved me from that lab, and now it's my turn to save you in return," Chidori said, taking out all of the knives that were lodged in Takaya's body. The wounds on his body were somewhat sloppily shut, however. Her Persona wasn't really good for healing, but it was passable.

"Why would you think something like that? Did I not tell you that you were supposed to be free, Chidori?" Takaya asked. "You have no loyalties. You are your own person now."

"I understand that, but it is the least that I could do for you," Chidori said.

Minazuki had enough of waiting for Takaya and Chidori to emerge, so he dissipated the fog. He ran towards the two with intent to end the battle here and now.

Looking around at everyone, Junpei wished that he was able to keep up. The truth was, that he was nearly the only one without a Persona that had evolved. He felt weak. He felt like he couldn't do anything for anyone.

Even Chidori, the weakest member of Strega, had helped to heal Takaya from the onslaught that Minazuki was throwing towards him.

So what could he do?

He thought back to the times that he had with his father. About how his father would always say that he was useless, and that he would never amount to anything.

Junpei felt a pang in his heart, remembering all of those horrible times.

He didn't want to feel that way ever again. He didn't want to feel like he let anyone down ever again. He would prove his worth here!

Junpei rose his evoker to his head and fired, summoning his Persona.

It had changed from Hermes. Junpei looked on in awe as an all red Persona that looks like Hermes, just with bigger and more wings, appeared, and charged towards the two remaining members of Strega.

Takaya turned around, a startled expression on his face. He tried to block the Persona's attack, but it grabbed him instead.

"What!?" Takaya yelled. Chidori drew her hatchets and was about to throw them towards Junpei, when Minazuki appeared right in front of her with use of Tsukuyomi. She was caught off guard, just what Minazuki wanted. He crouched down and prepared to pounce.

"Junpei... What happened to your Persona?" Yukari asked, staring at Junpei with awe.

"I think it evolved..." Junpei said, watching as Trismegistus threw Takaya to the ground, only to stomp on him as soon as Takaya hit it. "I was just thinking about how I didn't want to let everyone down... and then Hermes changed like that..."

"You didn't want to let everyone down? What are you talking about, Stupei? You haven't let anyone down..." Yukari said. "Don't tell me you were feeling a little bit inferior because your Persona is one of the only ones that hasn't evolved yet..."

"How about "I feel a little inferior because a certain someone's putting me down all the time and it reminds me of my father?"" Junpei snapped. "We're not having this conversation here, Yuka-tan."

Yukari was instantly silenced by that, instead looking towards Chidori.

Chidori rose her arms up to block whatever it was that Minazuki was planning. He smirked once again, knowing that Tsukuyomi was right behind her. He might be taking a hit here, but if it was going to knock her out, then it was one that he was going to take.

Tsukuyomi threw its arms up in the air, making a cross shaped wave shoot out of it. Chidori's eyes widened, hearing the wave coming closer and closer towards her. The wave of red hit her, and she slammed into Minazuki, who wrapped his arms around her and spun around, knowing that they were going to be heading into Tartarus.

"Clever devil..." Aigis noted, watching as Minazuki collided with the wall. Chidori was the one who took the full damage, however, because she was in front of him.

After that, she was, without a doubt, out cold. However, Minazuki had given himself quite the blow as well with his reckless move, unable to move his legs. He had no choice but to stand down until he could move them again.

'It's all yours now, Sho,' Minazuki said before switching back to Sho.

"I would really hate to go against Minazuki in a fight. I don't think I'd live through it," Minato said. "I'm glad he's on our side."

"Are you forgetting about me...?" a cold voice asked. Aigis turned around to see Takaya standing up from the brutal attack that Trismegistus unleashed on him. How was he able to stand after that?

"It looks like this isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped..." Minato said.

"I can take all of you on..." Takaya said, coughing up some blood.

"I'll handle this..." Aigis said.

"Aigis... are you sure about going in there alone?" Minato asked.

"The leader of SEES vs. the Leader of Strega. A fitting match, right?" Aigis asked, looking back to Minato and giving him a smile. Just from that smile he was sure that Aigis would come out of this alive.

"Yes, I do agree with you. A fitting match indeed. If you insist on pushing the way that you live, then I shall do the same! Your deaths are but mere moments away!" Takaya started to laugh maniacally. "Besides... even if you do manage to defeat me... what about the Dark Hour? Didn't you say that you were going to end it once you were through with me? I find that very hard to believe. The truth of the matter is... there is no way that you can reverse the effects of the Dark Hour. It would take a miracle for that to happen. All this time you have been resisting in vain. It would have been best to just stop thinking about it, and accept the Dark Hour for what it was."_  
><em>

"What do you mean there's no way for the Dark Hour to end?" Junpei asked. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I am quite serious indeed, Junpei Iori. As I have said before, it would take nothing but a miracle to make the Dark Hour end. What did you expect, anyway? The secret lies at the top of Tartarus... what a complete and utter lie," Takaya spat.

"There's no way that what you're saying is true!" Minato yelled. "I'm not gonna believe it! Not after getting this far! I refuse to believe that all of our efforts are in vain. Even if they were, I don't give up. I'll just make a way instead."

"Well well well... aren't you quite the headstrong boy?" Takaya asked. "You have a foolish personality. When will you children learn that dreams are nothing more but that? Dreams."

"Are you just here to tell everyone that what they hope for is stupid? What kind of person _are_ you? Why do you shoot everyone down at every chance that you get? That's just wrong!" Aigis yelled.

"I come speaking from experience. There is no such thing as dreams," Takaya said. "You too would know how I feel, if you have been trapped in a lab, experimented on constantly all your life."

"Bull... fucking... shit..." a pained voice groaned. Sho was crawling towards Takaya, gritting his teeth. "Dreams do come true. Just because you were trapped in a lab all your life doesn't mean that I wasn't... Hell, I'd bet that I went through a lot more torture than you. Have you killed millions of living things without feeling remorse at all? I had dreamed that the world would just die, and I would finally be alone. The only thing that I know anymore is fighting. How do you think someone like that would fit into the real world? Someone who can't understand someone else the way that normal people can... I have to beat you within an inch of your life to even get some semblance of that! All I had dreamed of was a world where someone would finally accept me for who I was... and I got that dream. These people that are with me... SEES... they're much more than comrades, like I used to think of them. Hell, I thought of them as tools to get to Ikutsuki before. But you know what...? I learned down the line... that these people accept me for who I am, no matter what. They don't mind the crappy jokes, they don't mind the sick humor... they accept me for who I am. And I accept them for who they are, too! They're my friends... so if you ever try to hurt them... I'm gonna fucking kill you."

"Sho..." Aigis stared at the boy in disbelief. She couldn't believe that the irate boy that she had met that day would grow up into someone like this... all it really took was a hand to extend outward...

"I get it now..." Minato said. "I get what you're saying, Sho. I was like that too. I thought that the world hated me, and I just wanted a normal life, and to _belong_. Ever since meeting my friends all those months ago... going through the good times and the bad... I've felt like I belonged. You can't stop us no matter how hard you try, Takaya. It's not because you're outnumbered... it's not because we're stronger... it's because we have a bond together. A bond that nothing can ever sever. So just you try and beat us. You're gonna fall flat on your face."

Thanatos evoked itself, and it let out a roar. Takaya shrank back, fearing what the Persona was about to do.

Instead of attacking, it started to change.

"We don't have much time left, the Dark Hour is almost over. We have to finish this now," Mitsuru said.

Aigis nodded, and commanded the entirety of SEES to rush towards Takaya. His eyes widened, not expecting something like this to happen. The members of SEES started to basically beat him down. Even Sho, who had injured his leg, joined in.

Minato's Persona finished its evolution, Thanatos turning into a graceful looking Persona that looked more angelic than demonic, like Thanatos.

Everyone threw Takaya towards Minato, and the blue haired boy used his Persona to slam a gigantic fist into Takaya. The man slammed into one of the walls of Tartarus, and along with Chidori and Jin, he was knocked out.

"We got 'em!" Junpei cheered.

"I don't think that they're ever going to get in our way anymore," Minato said. "Man... summoning this new Persona wears me out..."

"It would have to. That Persona was the most powerful one that you used," Aigis said.

"I suppose that we'll just have to hold off of Tartarus for tonight. Tomorrow, we're going to get to the top," Mitsuru said.

"Yeah. We're really, really close," Minako nodded. "I wonder what we're going to find up there...?"

"A bunch of empty space, I think. It's been a while since I've been up there... but I'll never forget the day that I fought Nyx," Aigis said. "I'm sure that there's going to be something up there to greet us, however. This is just the beginning. We're approaching the end of the Dark Hour, slowly but surely."


	31. Chapter 31

**I don't own Persona.**

_Chapter 31: Blood Red Moon  
><em>

* * *

><p>"So you really have to go?" Minato asked. The boy that he was talking to turned around and smiled at him.<p>

"Yes. My duty here has been fulfilled. There's nothing more for me to do here. Besides, I wouldn't be a use to you at all, anyway. It's not like I can summon a Persona. I'm just good with a katana," Ryoji said.

Minato frowned. "I'm sure that Minako would miss you."

Ryoji shook his head while frowning himself. "Just tell her that I live on inside of you."

"What were you really here for, anyway? What were you trying to prove to me?" Minato asked.

"I was here to help you realize that your bonds are where your power is coming from, and that you're no longer alone," replied Ryoji.

"And so your job is done now?" Minato asked. "I didn't know you for long, but I have to say, it was kind of fun knowing you, even if you were 'me'."

"Everyone has to part ways with everyone one day. You should remember that. There are days when you're going to feel like you're the only person in the world... but you have to remember that there are people here for you that will gladly talk to you if you want to talk," Ryoji said. "The final block of Tartarus is open, Minato. I'm sure that if you get all the way up to the very top, you will find your answer to the Dark Hour there."

"I should hope so, but do you really have to just up and leave like this? Without a word to anyone else?" Minato asked, looking at the clock that was positioned right above the door. It read 11:59 PM.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way," Ryoji said. "You've faced yourself fully, there's nothing left for me to be here for. You've grown up to be a splendid young man, Minato. Make sure you take care of your teammates. I'll be returning to the Velvet Room."

"I guess there's no way for me to convince you to stay, so... I guess this is goodbye," Minato said, sticking his hand out. Ryoji smiled warmly at the boy before shaking it, turning around and walking away, closing the door to the dorm silently so he didn't disturb anyone's sleep.

"It feels like a heavy burden just lifted off of my shoulders..." Minato said. "Tartarus has to go, and the Dark Hour along with it. Tomorrow will be the day that we end everything."

* * *

><p>It was silent at the base of Tartarus.<p>

As the members of SEES filed in, they knew what they had to do. There were somethings that needed to be taken cared of, and then they would be going up to the final floor.

Today was the day that they were going to end it.

It felt unnaturally quiet while they were walking towards Tartarus. There were no Shadows, there were no screams. Nothing of the sort. There weren't even coffins littering the ground.

Aigis felt a little uneasy, knowing that when they went to Tartarus when they were going to fight Nyx, the Shadows were going absolutely berserk. So what was happening now? It was like they were calmer... more docile than before.

Fuuka went to her usual spot and started to scan for the Shadows to see if there was something waiting for them up at the top, noticing the uneasy look on Aigis's face.

"Hey, Ai-chan, is there anything the matter?" Minato asked.

"N-no, what makes you say that?" Aigis asked defensively.

"It's just... you're looking kind of sick. If you're sick, then you can stay out of this if you want to," Minato said. "I'm not gonna force you to fight."

"No!" Aigis yelled, wishing she hadn't done that after realizing how loud she said it. "No, I'll stay. I'm fine. It's just... I was thinking... shouldn't the Shadows be a little bit more crazier? I mean, we're going to the top of the tower to see what's up there, hoping that we'll find something to get rid of the Dark Hour, right? Shouldn't they be protecting it if there was something up there?"

"Are you saying that there might be nothing up there that we can use?" Minato asked.

"I guess... I guess that might be what I'm saying. I'm not too sure yet. I just hope that we'll be able to get rid of the Dark Hour and return to our lives..." Aigis said. "Because... I want to live out the rest of my life with you. I'll never leave your side, Minato."

"...Aigis..." Minato began.

"You don't need to say another word, Minato. I'm sure that our bond is tight enough where we can just look at each other and express our feelings," Aigis said, putting a finger to his lips.

"So then... today we are going to make it to the top of Tartarus, and then we'll investigate to look around for something that might be of use to us to get rid of the Dark Hour," Mitsuru said. "It's been a pleasure fighting with you all here. I don't think I would have gotten to where we are now alone. I thank each and every one of you for assisting us."

"You're saying it like you're not gonna see us again after this, Senpai!" Junpei laughed. "Lighting up a little bit, huh?"

"I'm just saying what's on my mind, Iori, that's all. It's something you do often. I was talking to my father before we came here. He feels that there's something at the top. And whatever it is, we would either have to destroy it or bring it back," continued Mitsuru.

"If we're all prepared, then it's time to move out," Aigis said.

Everyone got ready, and followed Aigis into the teleporter.

* * *

><p>Stepping up into the last block of Tartarus, Aigis noticed that everything was nearly the same as before, with the clear, crystal-like decor and the multiple stalagmites that were littered around.<p>

"Wow... this place is so beautiful..." Minako said. "It's a real way to a girl's heart, that's for sure. Look at all these gems lying around..."

"This is the last block of Tartarus. Although... it opened a lot earlier than the last time," Aigis said. "There's only just a few more floors to go. We'll be fighting some of the most powerful Shadows that exist here. They're guarding something, that's for sure. I don't know what, though... There's just... way more Shadows here than the last time that I was up here. Something's up."

"What do you mean, there's a lot more Shadows than normal here?" Metis asked.

"I mean... it's like the Shadows are gathering here for some reason. We're all ready, right?" Aigis asked.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded.

Yukari looked around, wondering where Ryoji was. "Hey, Minato-kun, do you know where Ryoji-kun is?"

"Ryoji? Oh, he had to leave. He said that his job here was done, and that he would no longer be a use to us," Minato explained. "He was here to help me make my true resolution. And since I've done that... well, he left. Think of it like this: Ryoji was basically my Shadow."

"I see... I would have liked to talk to him more. He seemed like he was a pretty interesting guy," Yukari said.

"There's no time for us to be sad," Sho said. "We should get a move on so we're not regretting not doing that later."

"You're right, Sho-kun, let's get moving," Minako nodded.

"Fuuka, could you scan to see when the next Guardian is going to show up?" Aigis asked.

"Give me a second, Aigis," Fuuka said, her voice echoing through SEES's minds.

As the members of SEES walked through the floors of the final block of Tartarus, Aigis was looking around for any signs that something was off. There were definitely way more Shadows than normal. It was almost like there were triple the amount...

What could be making them swarm around like this? It was ever since they had defeated Takaya.

Aigis smiled, feeling a little bit nostalgic. "Hey... before we came up here when we were going to go and face Nyx in our last battle, we had made a vow."

Yukari turned to Aigis, interested in what she had to say. "Really now? What did we vow?"

"Well... once the Dark Hour ends, our memories of it and everything that happened during it will fade away..." Aigis said, getting startled gasps out of all the members of SEES.

"No way! We're gonna forget everything after this!? It'll be like we never met each other..." Junpei looked down to the ground.

"Why didn't you tell us this before, Aigis?" Akihiko asked.

"...I didn't want you all to loose hope," she replied.

"It matters not what happens in the end. Aigis, tell us, what was the vow?" Mitsuru asked.

"That on the day of graduation..." a tear slipped from Aigis's eye. She couldn't help remembering what had happened to Minato on that day. Visions of him were still clear in her mind. Visions that haunted her dreams. That peaceful face... that serene smile... that hand that touched her cheek... How could she ever forget about Graduation Day? "...we promised that we would meet each other on the roof of the school. It's funny... even though we had all forgotten, only I had remembered everything."

"Aigis... why are you crying?" Minako asked.

"Because Graduation Day was the last day I had with Minato before he passed away in my lap..." Aigis said, and the floor of Tartarus fell deathly silent.

"Oh... I see..." Mitsuru said.

"Really, he should have died sooner, but he wanted to keep his promise and stay with us to live out that day... even if it caused him so much pain..." Aigis said.

"Aigis... I'm so sorry for bringing that up..." Minako said.

"Do not be sad about it... I moved on from it..." Aigis returned warmly.

"Still, loosing someone close to you has to be devastating. It must have left a lasting scar on your heart," Akihiko said. "You know what, though? You don't have to worry about Minato dying, because we didn't unleash Nyx. Let's keep that promise for ourselves, too. Let's promise to meet up at the roof of the school during Graduation Day. We'll regain our memories of everything that happened, I'm sure of it."

Aigis nodded, a happy smile spreading across her face. "I would be glad to."

"Aigis... you might not like what I have to say. Up ahead, there are no Guardians... but at the very top of the tower, which you're 20 floors away from, there's something terrifying up there... just waiting for us," Fuuka said, returning to the team.

"No Guardians? Maybe whatever is up there took them all out. We should be prepared for whatever is going to be up there..." Aigis said.

"There's no doubt that whatever is up there is the strongest foe that we have ever faced so far. Stronger than even Takaya," Mitsuru said. "Be prepared."

* * *

><p>The team had finally made it up to the top floor of Tartarus. When they entered what they thought was the last floor, they found that there was one last stairway to go up, and it looked pretty long.<p>

Aigis recognized it as the room that they had their last bout with Takaya in.

"You know, I had never imagined that we were going to be here today," Yukari said.

"Yeah. I never thought we would have made it this far," Junpei nodded in agreement, looking up to see that they were about to enter the way to the top of Tartarus.

"I have to give it to you guys... without you, I don't know what I would have done," Sho said.

"I'm glad that I got to experience this with you all, and I'm happy that I have someone who loves me unconditionally," Minato said, suddenly grabbing Aigis's hand.

"Oh, Minato..." said Aigis. "Well, I'm glad that I met you, too, let alone everyone else. I guess it'd sound weird if I said that I was proud that you grew up to be the man that I had loved before, but I say it anyway."

"Well, I guess you could say that I looked up to the me of the future before I became the me of today," Minato said. "He sounded like he was the best guy that anyone could ever know..."

"He was... he really was, Minato-kun. He was friends with everyone. Almost everyone in the school knew the guy by the time our journey had ended. They were all really sad that he... left. I had heard that Kenji cried!" Aigis exclaimed.

"Kenji? Crying? I mean, that wouldn't surprise me, but seriously? Wow..." Junpei shook his head.

"I would have liked to know more about him," Yukari said.

"It's still kind of saddening, that I wasn't a part of SEES in your timeline," Minako said. "I guess we never made up, did we? Well, I'm glad that we did here. I wouldn't have it any other way... brother."

"I know that I came in at the tail end of this, but I'm glad that I'm here with you all today, ready to end things," Metis said.

"Hey, Metis... I got a question for you. How do you hold that axe?" Akihiko asked. "It looks like it's nearly two times your own weight."

"Normally it would be easy for me since I was a machine just like Sister, but now that she's a human, I had to change along with her. It's a little weird, but I guess the two of us retained at least some of our strength. It's still pretty hard to lift now," Metis explained.

"You never explained that... so, you're a part of Aigis, then?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah... I thought that you guys knew about that, which is why I never explained it, sorry..." Metis rubbed the back of her head, giving a sheepish smile.

"Hey, we're nearing the exit... we're heading to the top!" Sho pointed out, pointing forward. The final staircase was there, the one that would take them to the very top of Tartarus, where they hoped to end the Dark Hour.

Everyone had confidence in themselves that what they were looking for was definitely up here. There was no doubt about it. The key to ending the Dark Hour was right here.

Yukari gulped, wondering just what was up there waiting for them. Fuuka said that it was really, really strong. She had to admit that she was getting a little nervous.

She was surprised when Junpei grabbed her shoulder, making her turn to him with an angry look on her face. But then she saw him nod in assurance, so she smiled at him and nodded back.

Minato looked at Aigis, worry clear in his eyes. He had no idea what was going to be up there, but they just had to find out.

Aigis was the first one to go up, looking around for anything suspicious. Nothing was there. She continued to walk up the tower's edge to the very top, but stopped suddenly when she saw a red glow coming from above.

"What's that red stuff?" Aigis asked.

"I have no idea..." Akihiko said. "But we'd better check it out."

Aigis walked up, and immediately gasped. The Dark Hour... no, the entire world itself, glowed a sick shade of red. She looked up to the moon to see that it wasn't the correct phase. Rather, it was the largest full moon that she had ever seen. Red fog made visibility so poor she couldn't see her hands, or anyone else behind her.

The thing that scared her the most about this, however, was that she _recognized this_. Of course. Why didn't she think about this!? Hi-no-Kagutsuchi was here, as Igor told her, but she never imagined he'd try something like this... that was why all the Shadows were at the top of the tower! They were gathering here to...

Clapping could be heard. The fog only cleared partially, revealing none other than Shuji Ikutsuki.

"Well done, SEES. You've made it here intact," he said.

There was something completely different about him. It seemed to anyone that it was the ordinary, crazy Ikutsuki, but to Aigis, this was completely different. She remembered someone speaking just like that...

"Ikutsuki!? What are you doing here!?" Mitsuru nearly screamed, drawing her rapier.

"Calm down, Kirijo. I'm here to protect what's rightfully mine," Ikutsuki said.

"How did you get out?" Akihiko asked.

"I believe that would be me," a man's voice said. Someone that looked _exactly_ like Ryoji walked out. Watching the looks of the teens' faces change, the man smirked. "Do you like this form? The person who this body really belongs to is the embodiment of Death itself, so I found it fitting to take his form. Since you are going to die here..."

"Ryoji!?" Minato asked. "Is this what you ran off for?"

"I am not who you are speaking of. I am... Hi-no-Kagutsuchi," the man said, smirking at Aigis, whose face twisted in fear.

"No..." Aigis began.

He wasn't supposed to be here now! And not with Ikutsuki!

"Are you frightened of me? That's good. You should be. I'm your worst nightmare," Kagutsuchi said. "You've thrown a huge wrench into our plans. You're the smartest one of your little group, I hear, little girl. Would you like to tell me what my plans were?"

Aigis gulped before speaking. "All those Shadows that were at the top of the tower... you were gathering them here as some way to call down Nyx, weren't you? You were trying to recreate the experiment that Mitsuru-senpai's great grandfather conducted, so that you could call Nyx down again..."

"My, my, my... you have quite the keen eye, girl," Kagutsuchi said. "I'm impressed with you. That is exactly what we are after."

"Soon... Death the Almighty shall rise and bring the Fall! It will be the death of everything, but also the beginning," Ikutsuki said.

"Are you out of your fucking mind!?" Sho yelled. "Give me one good reason I don't run towards you and gut you myself!"

"As impatient as ever, Sho-kun..." Ikutsuki smiled. "Is that any way to talk to your father?"

"YOU'RE NOT MY FUCKING FATHER! SHUT UP SHUT UP _SHUT UUUUUP!_" Sho _screamed._ He started freaking out, actually _convulsing_ with rage, until he went limp and fell on the floor.

"SHO!" Akihiko yelled.

"Do not worry about me, Sanada. Rather, you should worry about Ikutsuki," a voice said. Sho's body rose from the floor. Minazuki had taken over before things got too serious.

"I too was part of that experiment ten years ago... it went awry, but that's not the cause of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. It was the Shadows that gathered together... They manifested as a result of harvesting the Shadows' power, just what that experiment was designed to do." Ikutsuki said. "That's why your grandfather collected so many Shadows. To bring about the Fall."

"..." Mitsuru stayed silent, opting to rather glare at the man.

"People have filled the world yet turned it into a void. The only hope of salvation lies in ruin! According to the prophecy... the fall will be orchestrated by the Prince, and once he has delivered us all, he shall rule the new world as King! I will not fail!" Ikutsuki yelled.

"You're a motherfucker, you know that?" Junpei asked. "You actually call that shit salvation!? YOU'RE GONNA DIE TOO, DUMBASS!"

"Kagutsuchi... it is time for you to break them, just as you have planned. Their Personas reverting back to their true, natural forms... they would make excellent Shadows," Ikutsuki shifted his glasses up.

"I think not," a voice said from behind them. Minato turned around and saw a familiar man with an eye patch walking up the edge of Tartarus, an evoker and rapier in his hands. "I'm not going to let you touch my daughter."

"Father!" Mitsuru announced happily.

"Death as deliverance... what a pitiful way of thinking," Takeharu said.

"You are a fool... Sho! Minazuki! Whichever one you are! Do your father a favor... and kill him!" Ikutsuki yelled.

"I think you are mistaken. You are the fool, Ikutsuki, for thinking that you have any semblance of control over me," Minazuki said.

"Fine... fine! I'll do it myself!" Ikutsuki yelled, grabbing a gun from his coat, pointing it through the fog at Takeharu. The man's eye widened as he saw the gun glint in the moonlight.

"Ten long years... I've wasted ten LONG years... and I'm not letting everything go to waste here! Don't you see that this world will eventually fester over time? Only its destruction can bring about salvation!" Ikutsuki yelled. "Now, I will reign over this world!"

Ikutsuki fired, and everything fell silent. The blistering winds all the way up at the top of the tower, the incoherent ramblings of Ikutsuki, and the pained scream of Takeharu Kirijo.

The man in question fell to the floor with a startled expression on his face. Mitsuru turned to see what was wrong with her father, and screamed when she saw his limp body with a single hole at his heart.

"You... scum..." Minazuki growled, prepared to charge towards Ikutsuki. Ikutsuki was about to say something, but suddenly, a hand grabbed at his head.

"Well, now that you're done with your whole spiel about the Fall... let's get to it, shall we?" Kagutsuchi said. Ikutsuki tried to turn around, tried to throw the man who looked like Ryoji off of him, but he couldn't find the energy to do it. Something was happening to him. He felt like all the power in his body was being sucked away from him.

The red fog that was surrounding everything began to fade away, and draw into Ikutsuki.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Ikutsuki panicked.

"I'm merely giving you what you wanted. Salvation in Death," Kagutsuchi said, his voice changing into something more sinister. It sounded like it came from the depths of Hell itself. "This body wasn't going to last any longer anyway. It was made from Shadows, after all. Fortunately, the horde of Shadows that are about to come here and you will do nicely for me. Did you really think that you would be the one in control, my puppet? All that's left is to fuse your body with the Shadows, and inhabit my true form!"

"Just like Minazuki!" Aigis cried out, not caring what she said at this point. He was taking over Ikutsuki's body similarly to how he took over Minazuki's during the Climax.

"Hahaha... Aigis... I am the collective will of those who step on others and strive to only live for themselves! I would have chosen you to be my vessel, however... your body is too frail. Too weak. Ikutsuki will do nicely! Everything will be incinerated in my fiery rage!"

"AAAAAH!" Ikutsuki screamed in pain.

The body that Kagutsuchi was using transformed into a pile of Shadows along with Ikutsuki. That pile started to bubble and disintegrate. At that very moment, the body that used to be Ikutsuki turned to the members of SEES and unleashed an ultra-powerful force that knocked them all down on their knees.

"What do you mean... you were... going to use me as a vessel!?" Aigis yelled, trying her best to stand up. It was exactly like when the Fall was happening in her time.

"Isn't it simple!? You posses the power of the Universe Arcana, the Arcana that had defeated Nyx in battle! I would have used that for my own, but your body is too frail for my power! I will just have to settle for Ikutsuki," Kagutsuchi said.

The power that was holding them down intensified, and Aigis could feel the air escaping her lungs. It was like she was being stomped down on by something immense. Everything in her body screamed out in pain.

"Aigis... I will make you my first sacrifice!" Kagutsuchi cried out.

"I won't let you touch her!" Minato yelled.

"Hahaha! And what are _they_ going to say about that!?" Kagutsuchi smiled evilly, looking down below the tower. A tsunami of black was swarming up the tower, making the ground that they were standing on shake like a violent earthquake.

In an instant, as Kagutsuchi laughed, the Shadows that had swarmed up the tower started to swirl, shooting into the sky like some sort of black tempest. Aigis finally found the strength in her to stand, and she looked up into the sky, waiting to see what would come down.

"Behold, SEES! This is what you have given me! My divine new form!" Kagutsuchi claimed, floating up in the air.

A disgusting figure emerged from the red clouds in the sky. It looked nearly human, but it was all black, with gleaming yellow eyes. It had long, claw-shaped hands, and it had teeth that looked close to human, but were still far off.

The giant Shadow that showed itself slowly approached the top of the tower, spewing some sort of red liquid that looked like dried blood. This was the vessel that the Shadows had given Kagutsuchi. A monster, in every sense of the word.

Aigis and Minato, out of everyone that went up to the tower, were the only ones that could stand.

"The powers of the Wild Cards... truly something that is to be reckoned with. But this form will destroy you all!" Kagutsuchi roared.

"We'll... we'll see about that!" Aigis said, still struggling to even move. Kagutsuchi's body was at the edge of the tower now. All the other members of SEES could do was watch as Aigis and Minato charged into battle.

"Aigis, you seem to know what the fuck this is. How do we even FIGHT it!?" Minato barked.

"I never fought it! I just know what it looked like and what its intentions were!" Aigis shouted back. "We're going on our own from here on!"

"Well isn't that just dandy!?" Minato swore.

"Focus, Minato... if we work together, then we can defeat it! I'm gonna send out everything in my arsenal at it... you should do the same!" Aigis advised.

"Enough with your talk! We begin now," Kagutsuchi said. The horn that was on the top of his head started to glow a bright red. That red soon turned into fire, and Kagutsuchi spun its head around like it was using it as whip. A fireball shot out of it, careening towards Aigis.

"Persona!" she cried out, summoning a silvery, mechanical angel with glowing blue eyes. Its eyes glowed an even brighter shade of blue before a wall came up to protect Aigis and Minato from the blast of fire. After the fireball dissipated, Metatron's eyes started to glow once more, only this time, shooting a laser beam out of them and towards Kagutsuchi. With no way to dodge any of the attacks that were being sent his way, Kagutsuchi had to shoulder the blow.

Just as she was recovering from using Metatron, Kagutsuchi reached to the left, preparing to swipe at the two teens. Minato saw what he was about to do and put his evoker to his head. A Persona that wielded a very sharp sword, and a thorny crown appeared, and dashed towards the arm that was about to hit Aigis. Susano'o slashed at Kagutsuchi's arm, making the beast cry out in pain before retracting it.

Kagutsuchi roared once again, this time summoning a pool of black. That blackness started to suck the two in, and there was nothing that they could do to avoid it. Aigis felt hands grab her in multiple different locations, nearly tearing her flesh apart. She looked over to Minato and saw him slashing at the hands, hoping that they would stop grabbing him if he did.

Eventually they let go of the two, and left them to fall on the ground. Aigis held her hands out to break the fall and catch herself, but it only served to hurt her as she slammed down hard on the ground.

"Dammit that hurt..." Aigis groaned, rolling over just in time to see another huge fireball coming towards her. Minato jumped in front of her, summoning Thanatos, who used its coffins as a shield. He turned around and helped her up while Thanatos countered with icicles shooting out of his coffins like missiles towards Kagutsuchi. Aigis nodded her head in thanks and summoned another Persona to attack.

The heat radiating off of Kagutsuchi's body melted the ice instantly, which made Minato swear in annoyance. Kagutsuchi laughed. "How do you ever hope to defeat me? You are but mere ants compared to me."

Before he knew it, however, a Persona that looked _just_ like Orpheus sped towards him and delivered a kick to his face so powerful that his entire body moved. That Orpheus then decided to strum his lute and call up a huge gale of winds in Kagutsuchi's direction, making small cuts all over his body. Minato turned to see Aigis, with her evoker at her head, panting.

"Orpheus?" Minato asked, wondering why she would ever use that Persona. Well, it did get the job done, quite impressively.

"Orpheus _Telos_," Aigis corrected. "A really, really powerful variant of Orpheus. You used it against Nyx. It really does take a lot out of you, though, so I can see why you only used it once for that Morning Star. Man, I'm beat..."

"Then why do you have it?" Minato asked.

"I told you, remember? You passed down all of your power to me when you died," Aigis said. "It's why I have Orpheus, Thanatos, Messiah... all of those Personas that you use. It's why I have the Wild Card as well."

"Not bad... it seems as though you have some strength to you after all. I will enjoy this..." Kagutsuchi said, raising one of his claws high into the air. He attempted to slam down on the tower of Tartarus, but Aigis summoned Athena just in time to use it shield to block the claw. Kagutsuchi struggled against the protective power of Athena, but eventually found a way to bypass it and hurt Aigis. Right in front of her eyes, the air around her condensed and then exploded into a ball of flames, blasting her away and into something that was pretty hard.

She turned around to see a glowing green gem in the center of the tower. She had no idea what would happen if she did something to it, but she was glad that it had broken her fall.

"Aigis, are you okay? Here... this is the least that I can do for you..." Yukari said, summoning Isis to heal Aigis up.

"Thank you, Yukari..." Aigis said, smiling warmly at her friend.

"Aigis... we can't... move..." Mitsuru said. "So... it's up... to you two..."

"I know, Mitsuru-senpai... We're trying our best to beat him," Aigis said, drawing her guns and running back up to Kagutsuchi's enormous body. She started to fire at the eyes of the monster in front of them, but Kagutsuchi put up a hand to block the bullets from ever touching his face. He rose his head up into the air swiftly, his entire body glowing red.

Suddenly, small little rocks started to fall from the sky, but these were no ordinary rocks. Aigis recognized them as something like comets, or maybe even meteors. They were coming at them, and they were coming at them _fast_. Minato caught wind of what was happening, and he started to weave his way through the crashing rocks, getting dangerously close to Kagutsuchi's face.

As he was going to slash at the monster, Kagutsuchi used his own head to ram into Minato's body. The blue haired boy was sent flying backwards. Aigis jumped up into the air with her arms opened, ready to catch Minato. Kagutsuchi fired another high speed fireball her way with intent to incinerate the both of them, but Aigis had known that something like that was going to happen.

Athena appeared in front of Aigis and Minato, shielding them from the fireball. As it impacted with the shield, the ball of fire exploded, sending a cylindrical shape bursting around the corners of Athena's shield. Aigis's eyes widened, thinking for a second that she was going to be hit by them, but she was otherwise unharmed. She set Minato down when she touched the ground and gave him a worried look, to which he returned with a reassuring smile.

"Why do you still stand although you have no hope of winning against me?" Kagutsuchi asked, once again getting ready for another fireball attack. Aigis wished that he could be at least a little bit more creative with his moves, but she supposed that since he was gargantuan compared to her and Minato, he would be able to keep things simple and still defeat them.

Aigis hated to admit it, but if it really did keep on going like this, he _would_ win. You can only block against huge attacks such as this for only so long before you start to crumble underneath the pressure. She wasn't sure just how long Athena would stay in this for, or how much her shield could take.

She would have to do something to change the tide of battle, and she would have to come up with something fast.

Aigis fired some more bullets at Kagutsuchi in hopes that maybe this time it would hurt him, but once again they just fell on the floor harmlessly, looking like they had only merely bounced off of the titan's body.

"Aigis, what are we going to do?" asked Minato, readying himself for another attack. Kagutsuchi fired the ball of flames from his horn, and Minato summoned a Persona that looked like a black dragon. Seth flew itself right into the fireball, not caring about it at all. It had a resistance to fire, which Minato had realized he could use to get closer to Kagutsuchi.

The dragon positioned itself, and then started to rapidly flap its winds, causing a gale of winds to rise up. Kagutsuchi once again was cut by wind, but he seemed to be unfazed yet again. It was like there was no stopping this monster!

"You think that a mere gust of wind will faze me?" Kagutsuchi laughed. "You're sorely mistaken, Arisato. Are you running out of ideas? Why don't you just give up now? It would be much easier to let me destroy this world, after all."

"No!" Aigis yelled. "What you're doing is wrong! We'll all pull through, just you see! Our bonds... the bonds that took so much work to form... they're not something that you can sever so easily."

"Only the simple drivel of a fool," Kagutsuchi said, his horn glowing one more time. However, this time it wasn't like the color that it had changed to when he was charging up a fire attack. No, this one was different. It felt terrifying, sinister, and most of all, deadly.

A black portal appeared right in front of both Aigis and Minato, similar to the other attack that he used on them the last time. The two tried to run from it, seeing as though they survived the hands before, but this time it was different. It felt like it was stronger, more concentrated.

As the two teens were grabbed by the hands coming from that hellish portal, the other members of SEES, who were begrudgingly watching from the sidelines since the pressure that Kagutsuchi was exerting was keeping them down, started to scream and shout for their comrades, who were being mercilessly beaten around.

"No! Please no! This isn't happening!" Yukari yelled.

"Brother!" Minako screamed.

"Don't tell me that they're... going to die..." Minazuki looked, for the very first time in his life, frightened. What they were dealing with was no ordinary Shadow. No, what they were dealing with was a demon. Something that didn't belong in this world. His eyes were slowly widening as he stared at the crystal that was spinning at the center of the top of the tower.

There had to be something that he could do. Something, anything that could make Kagutsuchi lose some of his power...

He tried to move his arm to reach for his knives, but they just wouldn't move. He was completely stuck to the floor. With every breath he took, he could feel them getting weaker and weaker.

This was it.

This was the end of the world.

* * *

><p>Aigis opened her eyes and took a good look around. She heard that familiar song playing in her head. Something happened to her, right? She was in the Velvet Room for whatever reason, and she was right beside Minato.<p>

"There is no need to worry. This is not the afterlife. You are still alive. Minato, do you remember what I once told you before? How the power of your social links will determine your potential?" Igor asked, turning to the blue haired teen.

"Yes, but what-"

Igor put a hand up to his ear. "Listen... do you hear the many voices of those that you have bonded with over this year? They all are reaching out to you and Aigis. Can you hear them?"

Minato and Aigis shut their eyes and concentrated, listening hard for the voices that Igor was talking about. They could hear Kenji, the student that went out with his teacher, Kaz, the athlete with the torn muscles that just wanted to succeed for his nephew, the old folks that ran that bookstore in the station...

Everyone that they had talked to and bonded with over the course of the year's voices were sounding off in their heads. They were words of encouragement and support.

A smile spread across Minato's face as he listened to them all speak. It was like they were cheering him on, even though most of them more than likely had no idea what was going on.

They sensed that he and Aigis were in danger, and they were doing their best to support them in their time of need. For that, Minato couldn't be any happier.

Igor held up his arms, and a glowing sphere of energy appeared before the teens.

"Can you hear those voices? Separately, they are weak, but together, they are mighty. Now is the time to truly draw upon the strength that you have forged with your bonds," Igor said.

A card floated down onto the table, and Igor had a satisfied look on his face. He gave a knowing smile to Aigis, who returned it in kind.

"Why, I've never seen something like this before..." Igor said, in a very convincing, surprised voice. The truth was, he had seen this before. The Minato of the future wielded this card as he went into battle against Nyx for the last time. "Behold the power that I am about to show you. It is the power to bring about the ultimate end, or the new beginning. What you have in your hands is the power of the Universe. With it, you may be able to defeat Hi-no-Kagutsuchi and save the entire world. With this..." Igor handed Minato the card. "Our contract has been fulfilled. You were truly a remarkable guest..."

"Igor-san... I thank you for this," Minato said.

"Aigis... I trust that you know what to do now, knowing that both you and Minato now share the same powers?" Igor asked.

"The two of us... combined, we can take down Kagutsuchi. Minato, we have to draw on the power of our strongest bond... our bond," Aigis said.

"Right," Minato said.

"We will be reaching our destination shortly. I hope that you are all prepared. This will hopefully be your last battle," Igor said. "I wish the best of luck to you all."

* * *

><p>Mitsuru Kirijo was definitely hating her life right now. Just moments ago, her father had died right before her very eyes because of a man she allowed to let roam free, thinking that he was not going to do anything like this.<p>

How wrong she was.

And now, now, before her very eyes once again, her comrades were dying. Minato and Aigis, their unmoving bodies were dark signs for her. She didn't know what to think anymore. Her mind was blank.

Out of all the things that could have happened to her, why did it have to be this? Why did three people that she held dear to her have to die?

But then, as if a miracle itself happened, Minato stood up. And Aigis did along with him. They were holding each others' hands, with confident looks on their faces.

Somehow, she knew what they were going to do.

"Give them strength! Take my life if you must!" She cried out.

"Yeah! I'm willing to risk mine too!" Yukari joined in.

"Don't give up! We have to believe in them!" Akihiko yelled.

"They're going to face it all by themselves...?" Minako asked.

"No! They're not alone! I won't let them die!" Junpei shouted.

"I _refuse _to let this world be destroyed!" Minazuki said, determination clear in his eyes.

"We've come this far... there's no way that they can lose now!" Metis yelled. "I believe in them with all my heart!"

Athena and Messiah appeared in front of their respective owners, and the two Personas started to merge together.

"What kind of power is this!? I will not be so easily defeated by the power of your "bonds"!" Kagutsuchi roared, raising his gargantuan hand up into the air. The two Personas finished merging together to form a gigantic sword that would easily fit into the monster's hands.

That sword rose high into the sky, and turned itself so that its pointed end was facing the face of Kagutsuchi's body. Before the hand that it rose could slam into the tower, the sword rammed itself into Kagutsuchi at full speed, splitting the demon in half.

As the blow connected, the crystal that was levitating around them cracked. That single crack grew into many different cracks, a spider web of splits within the crystal.

Soon enough, it shattered, and the entire world around them went blank, accompanied by Kagutsuchi's final scream. The sword that Athena and Messiah formed split back into the Personas themselves, and they joined their respective owners.

The world flashed white, and everything had gone blank.

* * *

><p>They opened their eyes at the base of Tartarus. SEES started to look around, wondering what had happened.<p>

"Mitsuru... where are Aigis and Minato?" Akihiko asked. The two were nowhere to be found. Not even Metis was there. Mitsuru thought about her father as well. He was left up there to rot at the top of that tower.

Hi-no-Kagutsuchi... that monster was finally stopped after the hard effort of Minato and Aigis. And they were nowhere to be found. Where did they go? Surely they couldn't have died?

The blood red sky and the enormous moon that had appeared along with it had faded away, instead becoming that normal shade of green fit for the Dark Hour. The moon had reverted back to a normal size as well.

There was not a cloud in sight. The starry night sky shone down on them.

The ground began to shake, and everyone turned back towards Tartarus. To their utter surprise, the tower began to disintegrate, vanishing into thin air.

It was a miracle. The thing that they had worked so hard to accomplish was finally here. They had gotten rid of Tartarus.

In place of the tower, two figures emerged from the particles that made up Tartarus.

To everyone's utter surprise, out of all the people in the world, Sho Minazuki was _crying_.

"The Dark Hour's done, huh? Thought I'd never see the day," Sho said. "Here they come now... Minato and Aigis."

Minato Arisato and Aigis approached the members of SEES. Minato had Aigis in his arms, holding her close like a man would his bride.

"We're back," was all that Minato could say, before the members of SEES jumped on him and hugged both him and Aigis. The Dark Hour's green glow slowly faded away, replaced with the normal night sky, a brilliant moon shining down on the members of SEES that fought so hard.

"Hey..." Sho said, after the hug was finished. He rubbed the back of his head. "You didn't... happen to see him, huh?"

Aigis knew what Sho was talking about, and her head hung low. Something had happened in that reaction that made that crystal shatter, didn't it?

"I get it. You don't have to say anything," Sho said.

Sho had completely changed. The madness in his eyes that just wouldn't go away was now all but gone, and he was just standing there with an air of quiet, icy menace. It looked to Aigis that he knew everything that happened while he was Minazuki. Was it that way for the entire journey? Aigis supposed so.

Sho's gaze was directed towards Ikutsuki, who was lying there, unmoving. Was he dead?

"When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I didn't know anyone there, or how long I had been out," he spoke.

The menacing tone he always had was gone. Replaced only by a calm, quieter one. One like Minato's.

"My care was paid up for basically forever. I had a good idea where all that money came from. The same goddamn bastard who tampered with an orphan kid and threw him away like yesterday's garbage. That lab was everything to me. I did everything that I could to see that rotten bastard smile. Save the sympathy for later, Aigis. Anyway, all that was left for me when I woke up as a shit-ton of money and a world that I never knew. I said it before to you guys. You get it, don't you? All I know is fighting. I don't know how to live in this world," Sho explained.

"By the time you were old enough to think for yourself, you were thrown into that lab... cut off from the outside world. The only person that you knew was Shuji Ikutsuki..." Mitsuru said. "And when you passed out due to one of the experiments, you woke up in a hospital bed. I can only imagine how the world must have looked to you.

"It's fucking hilarious, though... as soon as I went out of that hospital... where do you think I went? Right back to that fucking lab. That's when your dad found me. He told me that if I wanted to get revenge on the man that did this to me, I would have to work with you. I came here to Port Island, and I met up with Toaster and you guys. After that, the rest is history, I guess," Sho explained.

Aigis silently fumed at his use of her "nickname" that was so unfairly given to her by him. But then again, it was Sho, and some things were never gonna change.

Sho walked over to Ikutsuki's limp body. He could see that the man was still breathing. He took out one of his swords.

"If you're squeamish, look away. I'm gonna do what I should have done years ago," Sho said.

No one dared to intervene.

Aigis couldn't keep her eyes away. With one swift motion, Sho's blade came down on the neck of Ikutsuki, and it severed it cleanly. Not unlike that of a samurai, Sho sheathed his blade.

"I'll see you in hell, old man," was all that he said before he joined up with the rest of SEES. "Come on, lets go back to the dorm. Before we forget everything."

Aigis felt a pang in her heart, knowing that she was going to forget everything that happened during the Dark Hour. "Wait! We all know what to do, right?"

"Of course. On Graduation Day, we're gonna all meet at the roof," Akihiko said. "Don't worry. I won't ever forget. And neither will any of us."

"Yo, Aigis."

Sho stopped moving and turned to Aigis.

"As soon as I remember everything, me and you are gonna have that rematch. No holds barred," he said.

"...I look forward to it," Aigis responded with a nod.

The members of SEES could rest easy from now on. The Dark Hour was over, and along with it, so was Tartarus. Aigis couldn't say that she wasn't happy. She had done what she had came back here to do. Save Minato from dying. And by doing so, she had seen Sho for who he really was, and had even learned that Minato had a twin sister!

Aigis looked around for Metis. When she couldn't find where the girl was, she figured that she went back to the Velvet Room, seeing as though her job was done.

The entire world itself could rest easy. Aigis was proud of herself. No Nyx, no Arcana Shadows, no Ryoji, no pain in her heart that just wouldn't go away.

Minato turned back to her and smiled.

"What are you waiting for, Toaster? Get a move on! We're already a shit-ton of hours past curfew!" Minato called to her.

Aigis shook her head, all the while running to join up with the other members of SEES, gathering under the starry night sky.

'Some things never change,' she thought.


End file.
